Lost Home
by xLove-Me-Rockstarx
Summary: Mitchie Torres was an ordinary girl until tragedy struck her family. She moved to a new townwhere she meets a complicated boy named Shane Gray. What happens when he finds out her secret? Will he be able to stop her from blaming herself?
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: Mitchie Torres was an ordinary girl until tragedy struck her family. She moved to a new town, where she meets Shane Gray. What happens when he finds out her secret? Will he be able to stop her?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything…although I wouldn't mind Joe :D**

**Lost Home**

I pushed open the doors of Greenville High. This was my new school.

I pushed my way through the crowded hallway. I walked around the school, bumping into people as I searched for the office. I finally found the office. I took a step inside and walked to the table where a lady with dark brown hair sat. She didn't look old. She looked like she was in her 20s.

I cleared my throat which caused her to look up. "Uh, hi, I'm Mitchie, I mean Michaela Torres. I'm new. I'm, uh, here to pick up my schedule." I said. _Don't be nervous Mitchie!_

The woman at the table nodded. She typed into her computer. "You're the transfer from Iselin?" She asked.

"Y-yes," I said, nervously. _Iselin…_

The woman nodded again. She printed something out. She got up from her chair and handed me a piece of paper. That's when I noticed a name tag on her blouse. It read Connie Callot. _Connie._ She closed her eyes tightly, as the memories flooded back. She opened her eyes to see Ms. Callot looking at her concerned. "Are you okay, sweetie?" She asked.

"I-I'm fine. Thanks," I whispered. The images of that night wouldn't go away.

Ms. Callot continued talking. "Well that's your schedule. You locker number and combination are written on the back."

I nodded and made my way towards the door to leave. "By the way, Miss Torres," Ms. Callot called out, "welcome to Greenville High. Have a good day."

I gave her a small smile and left the office. Now I was on a search for my locker. I walked down the hallway, reading my schedule. I wasn't watching where I was going, so I bumped into someone and fell to the ground. I looked up to see who the person was.

"Watch it," said a girl with blonde hair. People around were watching. I quickly got up and continued walking.

At last, I found Locker 100. I walked towards the locker and noticed a girl with brown curly hair going through her locker, which was right next to mine. I don't think she noticed me standing there. So, I opened my locker after the second try and put my song book inside and a picture of my parents and me. The girl finally turns towards me and was startled to see me.

"Oh!" she cried out.

"Sorry," I turned to face her.

The girl smiled. "Hey, I'm Caitlyn, you must be..." she looked down at the paper she was holding "Michaela Torres?"

"Yeah," I said "but you can call me Mitchie."

"Okay, Mitchie. Well, I was told that I'm supposed to show you around school. Let me see your schedule." I pulled out a folded piece of paper from my front pocket. She unfolded the paper and studied it. "Oh my gosh! You're in music too! What do you play?" She got excited.

"I used to play guitar and piano." I replied.

"Do you sing?" she asked me.

"I used too. I wasn't that good. What do you play?" I asked.

"I produce music. You should check me out some time. Watch, one day I'm going to be a famous music producer." Caitlyn smiled brightly. She looked back at my schedule. "We have homeroom, third, and fifth and sixth period together. Did you get your books?" Caitlyn asked me. I shook my head. "Okay, well let's head to the library first and get you some books." I closed my locker and followed Caitlyn to the library.

"So where are you from?" Caitlyn questioned me.

"Iselin," I answered.

"So what brings you here to Wyckoff?" She asked me.

"I, uh, moved in with my brother." I said, nervously.

"Why?" Caitlyn asked. _When will the questions stop?_ I thought. _Should I tell__her? No. All I'll get is sympathy. And I'm sick of it.__  
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"My brother wanted me to move in with him." I said. _At least I didn't lie. I__told the truth…well not the whole truth.__  
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We finally got to the library. We collected my books and she helped me carry them back to my locker.

"Okay, let's head to homeroom." We walked through the hallway and stopped in front of the door. "Well, here we are." She opened the door and walked in. I followed her. There were a couple kids there already, but no teacher. Caitlyn sat down in the back, near the windows and told me to sit behind her. I sat down and Caitlyn turned in her seat. "There is still some time 'till the teacher comes. How's it like in Iselin? My aunt lives there, but I've still never been there."

"Iselin's a small town. It's nice, I guess." I said, not really wanting to talk.

"So what did you do over winter break?" _Plan a funeral._ I thought.

"I, uh,-" I looked around the classroom. Students were filling up the seats. The bell rang and the teacher walked in. _Saved by the bell._ Caitlyn turned around in her seat and faced front.

I looked out the window. From where I was sitting you can see the houses across the street from school. Many cars drove by. A red Audi stopped in front of one of the houses. A girl, who looked about 10 years old, got out of the car, followed by her parents. They walked hand in hand to the house. I smiled sadly to myself, knowing that I was on my own now.

**So this is the second story I've written. I hope you guys liked it. **

**Please review! **

**Also, please check out my one-shot Our Love Is Still Here if you haven't already.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! Thank you so, so much to those of you that reviewed. (: **

**BTBF : Thanks so much! Here's the 2****nd**** chapter, hope you like it! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own.**

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The bell rang for first period. Caitlyn and I walked out of homeroom together. I was headed to history, with Mr. Smith. Caitlyn was headed to history, too, but she had Ms. Olsen. She told me she'd see me later and then left. I turned and walked the opposite way and went to look for room 302. I walked around looking for the class. The hallways were starting to clear and the bell rang. I still couldn't find the class. No sound came from the hallways, and there was no one to help me. I continued to walk around looking for the class. I heard footsteps behind me. Whoever the person was was going really fast, as if they were running. The person ran past me, hitting my shoulder as they did so. My books and binder fell out of my hands and the papers in my binder, scattered all over the floor.

I groaned. "Great, just great," I muttered. I went down on my knees and started picking up the papers. A guy sat down next to me and began helping me.

He said, "I'm so sorry. I was trying to get to my class. I didn't mea-"

"It's okay," I cut him off.

We both got up and he introduced himself. "Hey, I'm Nate. I haven't seen you around here before."

"Mitchie Torres and I'm new here." I said

"Oh. Are you lost?" He asked.

"Shouldn't you be in class?" I asked him.

"Yeah, but I just got here, because my stupid broth-"

I cut him once again. "Look I have to class. I'll, uh, maybe see you later." I walked away, and he followed me.

"Where you headed?" Nate asked me.

"History with Smith." I replied.

"That's where I'm going." We walked in complete silence. He stopped and announced that we were here. Nate opened the door and motioned for me to go first. I walked into the class followed by Nate. Everyone's gazes fell on us. Most of the girls glared at me. _I wonder why_...

The teacher, Mr. Smith, stopped talking and turned to face us. "It's nice of you to join us, Mr. Gray. Now why were you late?" _Of course he wouldn't say anything to me because I'm new and an orphan._

Nate started saying, "I, uh-"

"It's my fault. Totally my fault. I'm new here and don't know my way around school yet, so Nate was nice enough to help me. On our way here, I, uh, tripped and dropped everything…so yeah," I said.

Mr. Smith just nodded and told Nate to take a seat. "Everyone this Michaela Torres-"

"Mitchie," I said.

"What?" Mr. Smith asked.

"Everyone calls me Mitchie." I said.

He nodded and said, "Everyone, this is Mitchie Torres. She's new to our school. Mitchie, you can sit," he looked around for an empty seat, "next to Nate." Nate was sitting in the very back. I walked to my new seat and sat down.

Nate leaned towards me and whispered, "Thanks."

The bell finally rang after what felt like an eternity. I gathered my stuff and got up. I was one of the last ones out. I stepped out of the class to see Nate leaning against the wall.

He saw me and started walking next to me. "Hey, Mitchie, where you headed next?"

I looked down at my schedule and replied, "P.E."

"Oh, I have math next. I'll walk you there." He said.

"No, it's okay. You don't have to." I replied.

"My class is next to the gym, anyway. C'mon, let's go." Nate said.

"Oh," I replied.

"So, where are you from?" Nate questioned me.

"Iselin," I replied.

"Cool, I've been here all my life," he said.

As we walked through the hallway, multiple girls giggled at the sight of Nate. Some girls glared at me. Most of the guys just nodded at him or did some weird handshake. I looked at Nate. _Guess he's one of the popular guys. He does look cute._

Nate caught me looking at him. "What?"

"Nothing," I said quickly, looking away.

"Well, we're here. I guess I'll see you later," Nate said. I thanked him. He waved and walked into the class across from the gym. I opened the doors of the gym. The teacher was standing right by the doors.

"Michaela Torres?" He asked.

"Yeah, but you can call me Mitchie," I said softly.

The teacher nodded. "Okay, well I'm your P.E. teacher, Mr. Ens. I'll get you some P.E. clothes. The P.E. clothes are $20." I took out $20 out of my bag and handed it to him. "What size are you?" He asked.

"Small," I replied.

He nodded and went into a little room. He came back holding a gray t-shirt and blue shorts which had some words on it. It said 'Greenville High.' He handed me the clothes and said, "You can get changed in the locker room over there." He pointed to a room where a couple of girls were going into.

I walked in and quickly got changed. There were a lot of guys out by the time I was out of the locker room, and a few girls. Even as a girl, I still don't get why some girls take forever to get changed.

Couple minutes later, Mr. Ens came out of his office. I stood behind everyone else. "Alright guys, before winter break, we did track. Today we're going to start volleyball season." He went back to his office and brought out a bag of volleyballs. "Okay, so I'm going to split you up into teams and then you can begin your games." Once the teams were picked we were sent off to courts. We took our positions and the game started.

We took turns to serve the ball. It was my turn to serve. I hit the ball. It went out of the court and bounced off a girls head. I gasped. _Oh shoot! My first day here and I already hurt someone_. A shriek was heard. Everyone ran over to the girl lying on the floor. Some of the guys were laughing, but once the girl glared at them they shut up. Two girls helped the girl I hit up.

Mr. Ens pushed through the crowd and went to the girl. "Tess, are you alright?" Mr. Ens asked_. Tess...she looks familiar. Oh! She's the girl that bumped into me this morning._

"Who threw the ball?" Tess yelled.

"Calm down, Tess," Mr. Ens said.

A girl pointed at me. "You threw the ball?" Tess yelled angrily.

"It was an accident. I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to." I said kind of scared.

"Ruano! Take her to the nurse to get an ice pack." Mr. Ens said.

The girl went to Tess. As they walked past me, Tess turned to me and said bitterly, "You will pay for that embarrassment."

**Was it good? Bad? Tell me what you think. **

**Please Review! I'll probably be updating on Friday or Saturday. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! I'm so, so, soooo sorry! I know I said I'd update on Friday or Saturday, but I didn't get a chance to. I had to study for my math placement test for high school which I just took on Saturday. Hopefully, I pass! And unfortunately I was really, really sick. I still am, but I'm feeling a little better than before.**

**Jblove: I'm so happy you like it! Thanks for reviewing (: **

**I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed, added this story to their favorite story list, and to their story alert! You know who you are!**

**Here's chapter 3!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything.**

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After P.E I had science. It was easy to find since it was next to the gym. The teacher, Ms. Rodriguez, seated me next to a guy. As I sat down, the guy winked at me. I looked away.

Caitlyn and Nate came into the class. They say at the table in front of me.

Nate turned around and said, "Hey Mitchie."

"Hey, thanks for earlier," I replied.

"No problem."

Caitlyn and the guy next to me stared at us with confusion written all over their face.

"You guys met already?" Caitlyn asked.

"Yup, I ran into her while going to history," Nate said.

Caitlyn nodded and waved to me. "So how do you like this school so far?"

"Uhm, it's okay," I said.

Nate turned to the guy sitting next to me. "Joe, be nice to her and do not repeat that incident that happened before winter break."

"That was an accident!" Joe protested.

"Whatever, just don't do anything stupid," Caitlyn said to Joe. The two turned around.

Joe turned to me. "Hey, well I'm Joe."

"Mitchie," I said.

Ms. Rodriguez started talking and class began. Joe was actually a funny guy. He was nice. Class was soon over.

We were out of the classroom when Nate asked, "Hey, do you need help getting to your class?"

"No, no, it's fine. I'll manage," I said.

"You sure?" Caitlyn asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure." I watched them walk away before going on a search to find my math class.

"Mitchie!" I heard someone call my name. I stopped and turned to see who it was.I stopped and turned to see who it was. _Joe. _"Where you going?"

"Math with Willow," I replied as we walked through the crowded hallway.

"Me too," Joe said.

We got to class. Tess was in that class too. She sat a couple seats in front of me but in the next row. She was throwing paper balls at me. _Real mature_, I thought. Joe was sitting in front of me and occasionally caught it before it could hit me. I'm kind of glad he's here.

Class was soon over and lunch was next. Joe and I walked out of class together. He said he'd see me later since he had basketball practice.

I followed some people into the cafeteria. I looked around, hoping to find Caitlyn or Nate somewhere. Caitlyn must have seen me because I heard her call out my name. I looked in the direction of where the voice was coming from. I finally saw her sitting at a table alone with Nate. I made my way to their table. I was half way there when I felt something wet pour down my head. I gasped. The cafeteria fell silent. I turned to see Tess smirking.

"How'd you like that, Torres?" Tess asked with a smirk.

I took a look around the cafeteria. Everyone was watching. I saw Nate and Caitlyn get up from their table. I took one last glance around the cafeteria before taking off. I was out of the cafeteria. I heard Nate's voice yelling at Tess. I was looking so I ended up bumping into someone. We both ended up on the floor. Ughh! _This is the third time today!_

"Watch where you're going," said a male voice. The guy got up himself, not even helping me.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not the only one who needs to watch where they're going," I said, getting up.

The guy smirked. _ What the heck? _"Nice shirt," he said.

I looked down at my shirt and blushed. _Greeeaat!_ _I chose the perfect day to wear white! _My shirt was now see through and you could see my black bra now, since Tess decided to pour water on me. I quickly crossed my arms over my chest. "Perv," I muttered before brushing past him.

I made my way to my locker. Caitlyn and Nate soon arrived.

"Are you alright?" Nate asked. I nodded. Nate blushed. _Huh? Oh shoot. _I quickly covered my chest again. Nate took off his jacket and gave it to me.

"Thanks," I said before putting it on.

"C'mon, we'll just go outside for the rest of lunch," Caitlyn said, grabbing my arm.

We walked out of school. The three of us sat on the grass and just talked.

The bell soon rang. We were off to fifth period. I had English with Nate next. We silently walked to English silently. Class flew by fast. I had music next. Nate and I walked to music together. On our way there, we caught up with Caitlyn.

"You're gonna love Brown. He's cool. Best teacher in the whole school," Caitlyn said to me.

"Only because he's my uncle," Nate said.

"Oh, please Nate. He's way cooler than you are," Caitlyn said.

"Your uncle's the music teacher?" I asked. Nate nodded.

We got to class. There were a few people there, but no teacher. We took our seats. I sat between Nate and Caitlyn. I looked around the class. It was a big room. There were 3 guitars next to the board. There was a drum set and a spare snare drum near the back by the row of stands in the back. There were so many instruments. _Well, duh! It is a music room after all._

"Welcome back, poppet's! How was your winter break?" A man asked with an accent as he walked through the door. He stood in front of the class. A lot of kids either said 'great' or 'good'. _Horrible_, I thought. "Now before I forget as usual, let me take attendance." He started calling out people's names. "Shane Gray?" Everyone looked around.

Nate spoke up. "He did come to school today. Guess he just chose not to come to class."

Brown sighed. "What am I gonna do with that boy..." He continued to call out names. "Tess Tyler?"

"Probably with Shane," Caitlyn said as she rolled her eyes. _Who's Shane? Wait, Tess? She's in this class too?_

Brown just shook his head and sighed. "Raise your hand if I didn't call your name." Caitlyn nudged me. I raised my hand. "Name?"

"Mitch-Michaela Torres," I answered.

"Oh, there you are," Brown said looking at his papers. "You're new here?" I nodded in response. "Come up here and introduce yourself," he said.

"But, I-" I started to say.

"No buts, now come on," Brown said as he got up from where he was sitting.

"Go," Nate said to me.

I stood up and slowly walked to the front to where Brown was standing. "Uh, hi, I'm Mitchie Torres and uh...I'm new," I said. It came out more like a question.

"What do you play?" Brown asked.

"Nothing," I said instantly.

"She sings and plays the piano and guitar," Caitlyn said from where she was seated.

"Really? That's great! Let's hear something," he said.

"What? No-"  
"Sorry I'm late," said a voice which I had started to hate.

Everyone's gazes turned from me to her.

"Tess, please step back outside. I'd like to have a word with you," Brown said. "The rest of you do whatever you want, just don't break anything. That goes for you Joe," he said walking towards the door.

_Joe?_

That's when I saw that Joe was in the class. He waved to me when he saw that I was looking his way. I put my hands in the pockets of Nate's jacket and walked back to my seat. Joe came to us and kneeled down behind mine and Nate's seat. He rested his elbows on the top of the chair.

"So you sing?" Nate asked.

"I used to," I said starring at my shoes.

"Why'd you stop?" Caitlyn asked.

"Uh, because I wasn't much of a good singer," I said a bit nervously. To be honest, I've been told by many people that I had a beautiful voice, but I never believed them.

"Oh, c'mon! You can't be that bad. Sing something for us," Joe said.

"No, really, please. Maybe another time," I said. "What about you guys?"

Joe answered first. "Guitar and drums."

"I do pretty much do the same thing as you, cept I also play the drums," Nate answered.

"Well, you know what I do," Caitlyn said.

Class went on. Tess and Brown finally came back in. He just let us to whatever we wanted. It was fun talking to the three of them. I was really curious about who Shane was. I overheard some girls talking and giggling about him behind us. _He must be one of those popular guys_, I thought.

Caitlyn nudged me the second time that day. "C'mon Mitch, the bell rang."

I got up and followed Nate, Caitlyn, and Joe out the door. Joe said he had basketball practice again and left. That left me with Nate and Caitlyn. I was supposed to walk home, so I said goodbye.

My brother's wife, Jessica, dropped me off at school and had told me that I had to walk home since my brother, David, or Jessica would be able to pick me up. Jessica had shown me how to get back home. _Home_. It felt weird calling David's apartment my home. It may be my home now, but it doesn't feel like it at all.

A car drove over a puddle of water, splashing me. "Oh my god!" I shrieked. My shirt was once again wet. I was drenched from head to toe. The person honked as he drove off. The person was driving an Audi R8. I noticed the person was a guy. Luckily Nate's jacket didn't get ruined since I had taken it off and put it in my backpack. _Oh! I forgot to give his jacket back._

I finally got to the apartment and made my way up.

**Sorry if there are any spelling or grammar mistakes. I kind of had to rush through this. Hope you like it. **

**Oh! I got tickets for the Jonas Brothers concert! I'm so excited! I get to see them on September 23. (: **

**Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**I feel horrible. I didn't get a chance to work on the story since I had loads of homework last week and I was busy over the weekend. Sorry, guys! :(**

**So who's bummed out about the Jemi breakup? I am! It's only been, what, two months? Wish it was longer. But hey, you never know what might happen on tour this summer. ;)**

**Hope you guys like this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything. **

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I opened the door of the apartment, walked in and kicked it close. David and Jessica were still at work. I walked into my new room placing my backpack next to the door. I then went to my closet and pulled a black sweatshirt off the hanger, retrieved a pair of sweat pants and threw them onto my bed. I kicked off my shoes and socks. I slipped out of my drenched clothes and left them on the floor. Now only in my bra and underwear, I stood in front of my full length.

"Who am I?" I asked myself in a whisper.

I stared at myself in the mirror as if I were a stranger. I couldn't even recognize myself. I don't look different, but my eyes do. My eyes look dead. No, worse than dead. I was never like this before. I remember back when the littlest things would upset me. Losing my favorite top, getting a bad grade on a test, and getting dumped. I silently laugh at how foolish I was. I'm nothing like how I used to be. I used to care so much about what I wore now. Now I just don't. All I care about now is whether or not the outfit I choose will cover my scars? Will they stay hidden from everyone?

I turned my eyes away from my face and looked down my body. I looked at my arms, my stomach, and my legs. I stared at the disgusting cuts I had made. I ran my fingers over the scar on my stomach. That scar is from the accident. It was still healing. I closed my eyes as the scenes of the hideous night flowed back. I could hear my mom's screams, the tires screeching, and the thunder. I shuddered and opened my eyes. I hadn't noticed how fast time had passed since I had got home_. Home…I don't know where my home was now._ It was already six o'clock. I walked away from the mirror and went to my bed. I picked up the clothes that I had set out and put them on covering my scars as quickly as I could, hiding them from my eyes too.

I picked up my backpack and brought it to my bed. I sat down and began my homework. _Yes, I got homework on my first day of school. Awesome, right? Not!_ It took me about forty-five minutes to do my English, math, and science homework. I took my song book out of my backpack and stared at the cover. _Mitchie's Songs. _I haven't opened it since the accident, but I go everywhere with it.

I heard the front door open and close. I got up from my bed and left my room. I walked downstairs to the kitchen noticing that David and Jessica were home. Jessica was taking out the food she had bought out of a black bag and David was playing with Chloe. Chloe is their daughter. She's only 9 months and extremely adorable. I sat on the stairs and watched the scene. They look like a normal, happy family. Like the ones you see on TV. By going into the kitchen, I'll just ruin the whole scene. Instead, I just went back into my room. I lied down on my bed, sleep overtaking me.

"Mitchie," I heard a voice call. "Mitchie, sweetie."

"Mom?" I said in a small voice.

"Mitchie, hun, come on. Wake up," the voice said. I slowly opened my eyes to see Jessica smiling sadly at me. I sat up in my bed and rubbed my eyes. "Dinner's ready." I nodded in response. Jessica left my room.

I looked at my phone to see that it was already 8:30P.M. I left my room and entered the bathroom. I turned on the light and closed the door behind me. I washed my face in the sink and wiped my face. I headed down to the kitchen to see David with his arms around Jessica who had hers around his neck. I cleared my throat and the the couple sprung apart.

"Uhm, you guys start eating. I'll go get Chloe," Jessica said. She left the kitchen as David sat down at the table and I did the same.

I felt weird sitting with the only other survivor of my family. Seeing my brother should be a good thing for me, but it isn't. I feel like I lost my brother in that car accident, too. I sometimes try to convince myself that everything between us will go back to normal. He's 8 years older than me so that age difference hasn't always helped our relationship. When I was six and he was fourteen, he didn't really like having a little sister. I didn't like him much either. He wanted to be doing his own things instead of staying home and babysitting me. Things changed as we grew older though. He became my friend and my protector soon enough. It became fun to have an older brother. But things changed when he moved out.

I like to think about all those weekends I had spent with David and Jessica. I liked to think about how things were back then. Everything seemed perfect. David and Jessica had gotten married and were soon to become parents. But I had ruined that perfect picture just like I crashed my parents' car. Jessica had planned on staying home with Chloe, but she just had to go back to work. Instead of working on new music and preparing for his classes, David had to worry about money. He had to worry about me. I was just a burden to them. A burden that they had accepted easily. David takes care of me, he's polite. But there's still a wall between us.

"So, how was your first day at school?" David asked as Jessica came back with Chloe.

"It was good," I said as before stuffing my face.

"Did you make any friends?" Jessica asked.

I simply said, "Yeah."

"Really? What are their names?" David said. He seemed interested.

"Caitlyn, Nate, and Joe," I replied.

From then, we ate dinner in silence with Jessica asking David questions about his day, and vice versa. After dinner, I helped Jessica clean up and then headed back into my room. I decided to go to bed early that day.

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I walked down the street looking for a music store. Now you might me wondering why I'd be looking for a music store when I actually don't play anymore. But one day during dinner, David told me he had found me a job.

_"So, uhm, Mitchie, we're kind of low on money right now. So I've found you a job," David said looking down at his food. He looked embarrassed._

_"Okay, where?" I asked._

_"It's at a music store. You can even start working on your music again, maybe," he said with a little hope. _

_"A music store? When do I start?" _

_"Tomorrow at six," David said. "I hope you don't mind."_

_"No, I don't," I replied. At least I can help out somehow._

I opened the door of the store. I walked to where a guy was sitting at the cashier. He was playing a beautiful tune on the guitar. The guy looked up as I stood in front of him.

He looked down at a paper that sat in on the table. "Mitchie Torres?" I nodded. "Hi, I'm Jason. Owner of the store." Two customers came up to the cashier. "Excuse me for a second, Mitchie. Why don't you go upstairs and go into the room that's next to the restroom."

I did exactly what he said. As I was climbing up the stairs I looked down at the store. It was quite big and there were a couple customers, not too many. I went into the room next to the bathroom. Inside there was a row of guitars and pictures of many famous musicians.

I walked around the room, looking at each guitar. I stopped at the guitar that looked exactly like mine. I picked up the guitar and sat on the stool that was sitting in the corner of the room. My fingers traced over the strings. I gently strummed the guitar once. I closed my eyes. I remembered the day Mom and Dad gave me the guitar for my 7th birthday. They knew how much I wanted a guitar since they had seen me play my invisible guitar in my room when I was younger. And so, they bought me one. I was so happy that day.

"What are you doing here?" A voice said ruining my thoughts.

**So what do you guys think? Like it?**

**If any of you have any suggestions or ideas for this story, you can send me a PM. **

**Please review! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry guys! I've been bust with school for that last two weeks. I had finals since it was the last two weeks of school. I graduated from middle school yesterday! What really sucks is that one of my best friends is moving away and the other two are going to a different high school. So basically, I have to go to high school without my best friends. **

**Thank you so, so much for the reviews! I got seven reviews which is actually the most I've received for a chapter. Thank you guys so, so much! **

**Well, here's chapter 5!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything.**

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"What are you doing here?" A voice called out. "No customers are allowed here."

It turned around in my seat since my back was facing the door.

"You?" I cried out loud. It was the pervert I ran into a week ago after the Tess fiasco. _What's he doing here?_

"Ah, you, loved your shirt from last week, by the way," he said with a smirk.

"Shut up, you perv," I said looking back down at the guitar.

"What are you doing here?" The jerk asked once again.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" I snapped. He snatched the guitar out of my hand. "Hey!"

"You're not supposed to be here, so I suggest you leave," he said.

"Why are you here then?" I said.

"I'm the owner of the store, ─"

"No, you're not. I met the owner," I cut him off.

"I am the owner, so leave before I ─"

"Actually, you're the owners little brother." A voice cut off the stupid boy. It was Jason.

_Woah, hold up! Little brother? This stupid jerk is his brother? _I thought.

"Yes, this stupid jerk is my brother," Jason answered. _Oops, did I say that out loud? _I received a glare from the jerk. "Anyway, where's Nate?" _Nate?_

"With his girlfriend," the idiot said putting the guitar back on its stand.

"Wait, Nate? Nate Gray?" I asked.

Jason nodded. "You know him, Mitchie?"

"Yeah, he's helped me a lot in school," I said, getting up from the stool.

It looked like something clicked inside of the jerk's head because he kept nodding his head. "You're that stupid girl Nate and Caitlyn have blabbing about all week." Now, it was my turn to glare at him.

"Shane, if you can't be nice then just shut up," Jason said.

"Woah, Shane?" I said, surprised.

"Duh," Shane said.

"Oh, so you're the infamous, supposedly "hot" jerkish guy, who's totally an ass, everyone has been talking about," I retorted air quoting hot. To be honest, he was kind of hot, but I wasn't going to tell him that.

A bell rang from downstairs. I'm guessing someone was at the cashier. "Shane, can you get that?" Shane rolled his eyes and silently walked out of the room, but not before giving me a glare. _What's his problem?_

"Sorry about him," Jason apologized.

"It's okay," I replied.

"Ever since Aria he's…I'm sorry." I nodded not knowing what else to do.

Jason showed me where everything was in the store. We passed by Shane every now and then. Jason got a phone call and excused himself leaving me with Shane. Shan4e was leaning against the table, looking at some kind of magazine. I stood there awkwardly until Jason came back.

"I gotta go. Can you guys handle the store?" Jason asked putting on his coat.

"But─" I went to protest.

"Sure," Shane said.

"Thanks. Close up at eight if there are no customers." He grabbed his keys, waved, and left.

Shane and I didn't talk at all. A few customers came in. Shane helped them out mostly. I only helped out one person.

Soon it was eight o'clock. Shane went upstairs to turn off the lights while I locked the cashier. We both grabbed our stuff and stepped out of the store. I stood next to Shane as he locked the store. Once he finished, he turned and looked at me. Just then, I saw David's car turn on the street.

"Uhm, well, bye," I said before walking towards David's parked car. Once I reached the car, I turned back to see Shane still standing by the door. I quickly got into the car and we drove to the apartment.

**Okay, so the ending was horrible… and the chapter was really short. Sorry about that. I'll make the next chapter longer! **

**Please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! Sorry I haven't updated in two months. I was staying over at my aunts in San Francisco and Microsoft Word wouldn't open and bleaah. So, now I'm back home and yeahhhh.**

**Thank you to all of you guys who have been reviewing. Thank you so, so much. And a special thanks to Mussofan04! She's been a great help. Thank you SO much! **

**So, like I promised in the last chapter, here's a much longer chapter. Hope you like it. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. I don't know if some of you even read this. But if you do, write chicken butt in your review to get a shout out in the next chapter.

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**

I had to walk to school the next day. As I was walking a black Hummer sped by, just to stop and reverse back to where I was. I stopped and looked at the car. The windows were tinted black so I couldn't see who was inside, until the back door opened and Caitlyn came out.

"Hey, Mitchie. C'mon, we'll give you a ride to school," Caitlyn offered.

"No, it's okay. I prefer walking," I said, shifting my backpack to my other shoulder.

"Oh, c'mon, Mitchie!" Caitlyn walked towards me and grabbed my arm.

She practically dragged me back to the car and I sat in the backseat with Caitlyn. Jason was driving the car and Nate was in the front. Nate turned around in his seat and smiled at me.

"Good morning, Mitchie. Was everything alright at the store yesterday?" Jason asked.

"Yep," I said, looking out the window.

"Wait, what?" Caitlyn looked confused. "I'm lost."

I was about to answer but Nate beat me to it. "She's working at Jason's store."

We pulled up at the school. I thanked Jason for the ride as I climbed out of the car. I was just about to walk away with Nate and Caitlyn when Jason rolled down his window and called out my name. "Mitchie! I forgot to ask you. Can you come in at 5:30 today?" I nodded and walked into school. Caitlyn was going through her locker and Nate was nowhere in sight. I opened my locker and took out my history and science book.

"What did Jason want?" Caitlyn asked as she closed her locker and faced me, leaning against her locker.

"Nothing really. He just told me to get to the store early." I closed my locker and turned towards her.

"Oh. Wanna go to homeroom now?" I nodded.

We were walking to homeroom when Tess stuck her foot out and Caitlyn almost fell but I caught her elbow. Tess and her crew started laughing.

"What the hell is your problem?" Caitlyn growled. I glanced over at Caitlyn. I'd never seen her so furious before.

"You," Tess answered. Some people had stopped to watch.

"Just get out of our way, Tess," Caitlyn said.

"Why don't you make me?" She flipped some hair over her shoulder.

I rolled my eyes, grabbed Caitlyn's hand, and shoved past Tess. Tess lost her balance and fell. _Eh, she deserves it. _The Tess wannabes gasped and quickly helped their 'queen' get up.

"You better watch your back, Torres!" Tess yelled.

I didn't stop to turn and just continued walking with Caitlyn. We got to homeroom and took our seats.

"Where'd that come from?" Caitlyn asked once we sat down.

"I have no clue!" I said. "She's just _so _annoying! She just gets on my nerves. And her voice is just so...so..."

"Annoying?" Caitlyn pitched in.

"Yes!" I groaned as I put my head down. My head snapped up, when I realized who I just messed with. "Oh, god! She's totally going get back at me. I've only been here for almost 2 weeks and I've already made enemies. Great, just great!"

"Enemies? I thought Tess was your only enemy."

"Her and Shane." I rolled my eyes.

"You met Shane?"

"I met him like two times. Well, he's not really an enemy. I just don't like him."

"When did you meet him?" Caitlyn asked.

"My first day here and yesterday at the store," I said.

Caitlyn was going to say something but the teacher walked in.

The bell rang and we headed to our first period class. We had a partner project to do for history. Luckily, we got to choose our own partners so Nate and I were partners. Next, I had P.E, which wasn't much fun since I received a lot of glares from Tess and her minions. In music Brown said we could do whatever we want.

Sometime during class Shane came in. Tess and all the girls, except Caitlyn and I, were all over Shane. Shane caught me looking over at him and winked at me. I quickly looked away and blushed.

Caitlyn played some beats from her laptop for Nate, Joe, and me. She was really good. Class was over and everyone left class. I said goodbye to Joe, Caitlyn, and Nate and walked home.

When I got home I started doing my homework since I had to get to work early today. It was 4:30 by the time I finished. I went into the living room and turned on the TV.

I decided to leave for work at five. I walked to the store and got there ten minutes early. Jason was sitting next to the register talking on the phone. The bell rang when I walked in and Jason looked up. He hung up and I walked towards him.

"Hey, thanks for coming early," he said.

"It's okay. So, am I handling the store alone?" I placed my bag on the table.

"I'll send someone in to help you out," Jason answered. "I need to get going now. Close up at 9:30." He left the store and I walked around looking at the Cd's. A few customers came in. Joe was one of them.

"Hey Mitchie, what brings you here?" Joe asked.

"I work here," I answered. "So, what are you looking for?"

"John Mayer CD."

"You're a John Mayer fan?" I asked as I walked to where the Cd's were.

"Nah, my mom is. It's for her. You're a fan?"

I nodded. "Which album?"

"Battle Studies," he replied.

I found the CD and took it over to the cash register. "That will be...$18.98." He gave me a twenty dollar bill and I gave him his change.

"We should hang out some time," Joe said as I handed him his receipt.

"We do at school."

"I mean out of school."

"Oh. Uh, yeah. Sure," I replied nervously. _Just the two of us? Or with friends?_

Joe smiled. "See you in school tomorrow."

"Yeah, bye." I sighed and pulled out my IPod from my bag. I put in my headphones and listened to music.

Someone placed a hand on my shoulder and I jumped up in surprise. Shane laughed.

"Jeez, don't do that!" I had one hand over my heart and I pulled my headphones out with the other. "What are you even doing here?"

"Jason sent me," he replied, sitting on the table. "I didn't know you were in my music class."

"That's because you never show up in class." I put away my IPod.

"Nate said you play piano and the guitar. Oh, and that you sing," Shane said.

"Why are you telling me this?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Well, let's hear something," he said.

I crossed my arms. "I don't play anymore."

"How come?" He was swinging his legs back and forth.

"That's not of your business," I said looking away from him.

"Oh c'mon, don't you trust me?" He poked my arm.

"No." Neither of us said a word.

"So, why are in the class if you don't play?" Shane broke the silence.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Just trying to make conversation. Sheesh."

I rolled my eyes. "I didn't pick my classes. Plus, all the other electives were full."

"Well, who chose your classes then?" He questioned.

"My brother."

"Why not your parents?"

I looked him in the eyes and said, "Because their dead."

His eyes widened and he still stared into my eyes. Shane quickly looked away. "I- I'm sorry."

"Don't be." My phone vibrated in my pocket and I pulled it out. I got a text from David asking where I was and I quickly replied. I looked up and found Shane starring at me. "What?" I snapped.

"Nothing, sorry." He looked away and picked up a magazine. Couple minutes later he put it down and asked, "Wanna watch a movie?"

"Uh, sure, I guess. But I get to choose." I got up from the chair I was sitting on.

"Fine, but it better not be some stupid chick flick," Shane grumbled, as he jumped off the table.

I ignored him and walked to where the DVD's were. "We're gonna watch...hmm," I looked through the DVD's, "_A Walk to Remember."_

Shane didn't protest. He took the DVD from my hand and started going upstairs. I followed him. We went into the room that was next to the guitar room.

As Shane put in the DVD, I sat down on the couch that was there. He pressed play and sat down next to me. I scooted a few inches away from him silently, hoping he wouldn't notice.

"I don't bite, you know," he said, his gaze still on the TV. I didn't respond.

The movie was soon over. No customers had come in during the movie. I looked at my phone to see that it was eight. I looked over at Shane and tried not to laugh. Tears were streaking down his face. I silently got my phone out and took a picture.

I couldn't hold it in anymore and broke out into a laugh. "I can't believe you're crying over the movie!" I was still laughing.

"I'm not crying! Something went into my eye," Shane wiped away his tears.

"Whatever you say." I got up from the couch.

"But I wasn't crying!" Shane protested.

"You know I think everyone in school would love to see a picture of Shane Gray crying."

"You took a picture?" His eyes widened.

"Yup and I'm going to send it to Caitlyn."

"No!" He lunged towards me to get my phone, but I jumped onto the couch. Shane still came towards me and jumped onto the couch. "Mitchie! Please, don't do that!"

I put my phone behind my back and shook my head. His arms went around my waist to try and get the phone. I gasped as I was pulled into him and his hands were over mine, trying to get my phone.

Shane stopped and looked down at me. I looked up and regretted it instantly. I felt lost in his brown eyes. Shane's face grew closer and closer to mine. My eyes slowly closed. I could feel his warm breath on my face. The distance between our lips lessened as Shane leaned in.

A bell rang which indicated that a customer came in. My eyes widened and I jumped off the couch, away from Shane. Shane slowly got off the couch and stood there, not moving. The bell rang again.

"Uh, I'll get it," Shane said, as he ran a hand through his hair. He turned around and walked out the door.

"Oh, my god," I whispered to myself. That was not supposed to happen. I was about to kiss Shane. _Holy shit!_, I thought. I sat down on the couch, with my head in my hands. _Do not fall for him, Mitchie. Y__ou don't need a boy in your life right now. _

Ten minutes had passed and Shane still didn't come. The bell rang again. More time passed by, so I decided to go downstairs.

I walked downstairs and saw no one. I walked towards the cash register. I turned to my left and went to look around the store. I heard a noise coming from where the DVD's were.

What I saw shouldn't have been a surprise, but it was. Shane was against the shelf, with Tess in front of him, kissing.

_Isn't it usually the other way around?_ I thought_. Oh, forget it about it, Mitchie! Just get out of there before they see you._

I slowly moved back and turned around. I walked back to the counter and grabbed my bag. I was walking towards the staircase when my phone started ringing.

_Oh Crap_.

**Please review! **

**You know you want to. ;)**

**I am writing a story called Beautiful Disaster with xoKisses-Dixo. You can get the link to the story by going to my profile. :D**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you so much for the reviews. I will be sending out spoilers for the next chapter. Just 5 reviews away from 50! :)**

**IAmBelieber was the only person who caught the message in the disclaimer. **

**So, how many of you watched Camp Rock 2? What'd you guys think of it? I coudn't watch it because I don't have Disney Channel anymore. ****But I am going to watch it on youtube! :D **

**Disclaimer: Still don't own anything. **

I stood frozen in my spot. "What the hell?" I heard Tess yell. I turned around to see Tess and Shane standing right behind me. I pulled my phone out of my bag and turned it off. "What are you doing here, Torres?" Tess asked.

"I work here." I responded.

"Your brother gave this creep a job?" Tess sneered.

I opened my mouth to respond, but quickly closed it. I turned back and rushed back upstairs to avoid a stupid fight with Tess that would happen if I stayed.

"You said you were alone!" I heard Tess saying as I went into the room where Shane and I had been watching the movie.

"Freaking Tess. Calling me a creep. I'm not a creep. Stupid bi−," I grumbled to myself but was interrupted by Shane.

He stood at the door."Hey, I−"

"You don't have to say anything."

"But-"

"Why are you...how can you be with...with that _thing_?" I blurted out.

"That _thing _is my girlfriend,"

"Well, you got some horrible taste in girls." I crossed my arms.

"I like you. Is that horrible?"

I froze at what he said. _He likes me? Me? _I decided to pretend I didn't hear him. "You have a girlfriend, yet you almost kissed me?" Shane just shrugged.

I left the room and went back down. Shane didn't come back down. I heard a guitar playing. It was Shane, obviously since we're the only ones in the store. He was really, really good.

A few customers came in and I helped them out. Shane never came back down. I looked at my phone to see what time it was. It was 9:30 so I decided to go upstairs to tell Shane it was closing time. I ran up the stairs and stumbled into Shane.

My body was pushed backwards and I was about to fall back. I felt two strong arms wrap around my waist and hold me in place. His face was so close to mine. "Uh, you can let go of me now," I said looking anywhere but at him. He still didn't let go. I did not want a recap of what had happened earlier so I pinched his arm and he quickly withdrew his arms. He took a step away from me. "Sorry," Shane muttered.

"It's closing time," I said and went back down.

I made sure everything was in place while Shane counted how much money they made that day. I went upstairs to get my bag that I had left there and shut off all the lights upstairs. Shane was done counting and was locking the cash register. I ran back down and turned off the lights downstairs. Shane stood next to me as I locked the door. I handed him the keys and walked away. I had to walk home since Jessica took the car and she had a late shift that day.

"Mitchie!" I heard my name being shouted. I turned around to see Shane running towards me.

"What?" I asked, annoyed.

"I was wondering if you needed a ride home."

"Why? So you can stalk me afterwards? No, thanks," I turned back.

Shane grabbed my arm and pulled me back. "It's almost ten, you shouldn't be walking alone this late."

"I'm fine walking. I don't need a ride home." I pulled my arm away and started walking. I felt rain drops hit my face and it started raining.

"You still sure about that?" Shane yelled. I sighed and turned back towards Shane. He was smirking when I got to him. "Ready?" I rolled my eyes and nodded.

"Let's go." He grabbed my hand and we ran to his car.

"This is your car?" I stood starring at the car as Shane opened the door for me.

"Yes, now get in!" I got in and Shane closed the door. He went around to his side and got in.

I smacked Shane's arm. "You freaking idiot!"

"Well, first of all, _ow. _And second, what the hell did I do?"

"On my first day here, I was walking home from school and you drove over a puddle and splashed me. I had to walk home soaking wet in the freezing cold!"

"Oh, that was _you_?" He laughed. I glared at him which made stopped him. "Sorry."

"Just drive."

"Well, in order to do that, I need directions."

"Oh. Yeah. Do you know where Four Creeks Apartments is?" He nodded. "Well go there." As he drove, neither of us said a word. I caught him glancing at me and he opened his mouth to say something a couple of times, but didn't say a word. "What?"

"Nothing." Shane quickly said. "Nothing at all."

I closed my eyes and leaned into the seat. Soon, we were at the apartments. Shane was already at my door, opening it and I got out.

"Thanks." I smiled slightly and waved as I walked away. He just nodded his head and got in his car. Shane waited until I got to the steps to drive off.

David was standing at the door when I got to the steps. "Who was that?"

"Just some dude," I replied as I watched Shane's car drive off.

"Don't tell me you got a ride from a random guy," David said.

"I'm not an idiot, David." I crossed my arms.

"Then who was he?" He questioned.

"He goes to my school." I answered.

"Is there anything I should know about?"

"David!"

"Okay, okay! I'm just checking."

I rolled my eyes and led us upstairs.

**Sorry, it's short. Hope you guys liked it.**

**Sooooooooooooooo, what'd you guys think? **

**Please review. More reviews equal faster updates. :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Seriously, I love you guys! Like no joke. Thank you soooooooooooooooooooooo much for the reviews! :D**

**We broke 50 reviews! Woooot! :) The 50th reviewer was disneylover21. Ooooh! And sorry Eloise Lawrence! I forgot to send you a sneak peak for this chapter when I was replying to your review.**

**Well, anywaaaay, here's chapter 8. Hope you like it. **

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything. **.

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The next day, Shane was in my P.E class. I was the first girl out of the locker room and a couple of guys were out, one of them being Shane. Mr. Ens told us to go outside to the field and after we got changed. I sat down on the bleachers and soon Shane came to me.

"Hey," Shane said, sitting down next to me.

"Why are you talking to me?" I turned towards him.

"I just said hi."

"What do you want?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing. Sheesh, can't I just come over and say hi?" Shane replied.

"No."

"I'm just trying to be nice."

"Why? Because my parents are dead?"

"No", Shane said quickly. "I was just-"

"I don't need your sympathy." I cut him off.

"But-"

"You better go before Tess sees you talking to me and rips your head off." I said as I saw Tess coming outside with some of her minions.

"No."

"Fine, then I'll go." I got up and walked over to Mandy, who was extremely nice. Mandy was a new friend I made.

"Hey, Mandy," I said once I reached her.

"Hey, Mitchie," she smiled.

We played softball today. I don't mean to brag but I'm pretty good at softball. I played it at my old school. P.E was soon over. After changing, Mandy and I headed to math.

"Hey," Joe said to me as I sat down.

"Hi," I replied as I took out my homework.

"So, I was wondering if you-"

"Teacher's here. Tell me later." I turned around. We had a test that day and I'm pretty sure I failed it.

Science was not fun. We dissected a squid. Joe and Nate thought it was awesome. Caitlyn and I, on the other hand, thought it was disgusting. After science we had lunch and we went outside again for lunch.

"How do you think you did on that test in math?" Caitlyn asked Nate.

"I don't know. Okay, I guess. It was kinda-"

"Hey, guys," Shane said as he plopped down next to me.

"Why aren't you with Tess?" Nate asked.

"Because I don't want to talk about nails and shoes." Shane replied. I rolled my eyes.

"So, Mitchie," Joe said, "are you free Friday night?"

"No, sorry. I have to babysit my niece." I wasn't lying. It was the truth. Isabella's usual babysitter was busy, so I had to babysit.

"Oh. Maybe another time." I nodded, not knowing what else to do. "Oh, shit! I forgot I had basketball practice," Joe suddenly got up and ran for door. "See you guys later!"

Caitlyn waited until Joe was gone to say, "He's totally crushing on you!"

"He is not!" I protested.

"Yeah, he is. During P.E, he wouldn't shut up about you." Nate said. I glared at him. "What! I'm just saying."

"He can't. I'm...I'm not interested in-"

"You like girls?" Shane exclaimed.

"No! Let me finish, you idiot. I'm just not interested in _him_."

"Is there someone else you're _interested i_n?" Caitlyn asked.

I looked at Shane for a brief second and said, "No. I don't want to get caught up with boys right now."

"So, is that why you said no? Because you don't want a boyfriend?" Caitlyn asked.

"Yeah."

"Then tell him that." Nate said, playing with Caitlyn's hair.

"How?" I asked as I sat Indian-style.

"Just go up to him and be like, 'Hey, Joe! I don't like you so leave me alone. Okay, bye! Teehee, hehe!'" Shane said in a girly voice. Nate started laughing.

"Okay, one, I'm not saying that. That sounds mean. And two, I do not _teehee_ or _hehe_." Shane shrugged.

"Just tell him the truth," Caitlyn said. Nate agreed with her.

"But I can't," I whined. "I've always had a hard time telling a guy I don't like him. And what about you guys? You guys should tell each other the truth, too."

Nate's hand left Caitlyn's hair. "What?"

"I mean it's obvious you guys like each other. You guys even act like you're dating."

"No, we don't. I don't like Caitlyn." Nate denied.

"Yeah, right. I'm with Mitchie on this one." Shane said.

"What kind of brother are you?"

"Hey, I'm trying to help you out here, bro. You're the one who told me you liked Cait." Shane said and Caitlyn blushed.

"Shane! Shut up!" Nate's face turned red.

"You like me?" Caitlyn asked Nate, softly.

I nudged Shane and motioned that we should leave the two alone. We left the two love birds outside and went back in. We walked around school, aimlessly. I knew I shouldn't have talked to Shane the way I did this morning, especially, when he helped me last night. So, I decided to apologize.

"Shane, I'm sorry for the way I talked to you this morning," I said looking at my hands. Shane didn't respond, so I took a glance at him. He had his hands in his front pockets and he was starring at his shoes. "Shane?" I put a hand on his shoulder.

Shane looked up. "What?"

"Did you even hear a word I said?" He stared at me blankly.

"I'll take that as a no." I sighed. "I said I'm sorry for the way I talked to you earlier. I shouldn't have been so rude. And thanks for last night."

He stared at me once again and didn't say anything for a moment. Shane opened his mouth to say something, but the bell rang. "I'll see you in music." Shane walked away.

**Did you like it? Please leave your thoughts in reviews. :)**

**I finally watched Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam...and it was AWESOME! The Nate and Dana scenes were kinda cute...but I wished it was Caitlyn instead of Dana. What do you think?**

**I won't be updating until maybe the weekend because I want to get the next couple chapters written before my school starts this Thursday. That way it'll be easier for me to update later on. Hope that's fine with you guys. **


	9. Chapter 9

**Hii! :) Thursday was my first day of high school and it wasn't so bad. I got lost once, though. Haha. I've already started getting homework so I won't have a lot of time to write anymore. But I'll try my best. **

**Thanks for the reviews. Hope you guys like this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

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**

I headed towards my English class and met Caitlyn and Nate on my way to class. The two were holding hands.

"So, how awesome am I?" I squeezed myself in between them and put my arms around their shoulders.

"Thanks, Mitchie," Caitlyn said.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Nate hugged me tightly. We were standing outside of class.

"A little breathing space would be nice, Nate."

"Oh, sorry. But really, thanks." He let go of me.

"I didn't even do anything really. But anyway, c'mon." We walked into class and took our seats.

In music, Shane sat with us instead of Tess. _Why is he sitting with us all of a sudden?_

"I have an assignment for you guys," Brown said. "You are to bring something to class and perform it. You can sing, you can do a solo on guitar, piano, drum set, whatever. You can work alone or you can work as a group. The choice is up to you. You will have five weeks to work on this. If you have any questions come see me."

Once Brown sat down at his desk and picked up his guitar, everyone started talking about what they were going to do. Connie, the woman that worked in the office, came in holding a stack of blue papers. Brown took the papers from her and looked at them. Connie left the room.

Brown set his guitar down and got up. "Okay, listen up! There's going to be a charity showcase here at school on the day the assignment is due. If you perform it at the charity showcase, you will receive extra credit. If you don't then you are going to perform it in class."

Brown passed out the papers. After he was done he sat back down with his guitar and everyone else continued talking. I spent the rest of class thinking about what I was going to do since I had stopped playing music.

After class ended, I went to my locker, got the books I needed, and headed home.

"Hey! Mitchie, wait up!" Nate yelled, jogging over to me. "Do you need a ride home?"

I really didn't feel like walking today so I said, "Yeah, sure."

I followed him to the student parking lot and saw Shane leaning against his car.

"Ready?" Shane asked. Nate nodded and climbed into the front seat while I sat in the back.

Shane started the car and rolled down the windows. We were just about to drive off but a voice which I had started to hate yelled, "Shane! Shaney! Wait for me!"

Tess strutted over to Shane's window. "_Shaney_, I need a ride home."

"Get in," Shane said.

"Uhm, I think I'm going to walk home." I said as Tess opened her door and climbed in.

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Tess replied as she took out a mirror from her handbag.

"Shut up, Tess," Nate said. "Mitchie, c'mon, just stay."

"Fine." I stared out the window.

We soon arrived at Four Creeks Apartment. As I was unbuckling my seat belt Tess said, "Oh, wow. You live in this garbage?"

"I wouldn't be talking, Tess. You used to live here, too." Shane replied. That shut her up.

"Hey, how did you know Mitchie lives here?" Nate asked Shane as I got out the car.

"I gave her a ride home last night." Shane said. Tess's mouth dropped open at this.

"Thanks for the ride." I waved and walked away from the car.

. . .

Shane wasn't at work today and I was kind of relieved. Thinking about Shane reminded me of what he had said to me yesterday. _I like you. _ Was he telling me the truth or was he lying? He could have been lying. I mean, why would he like _me_? He has Tess, so why would he want a simple girl like me?

"Mitchie, you okay?" Jason put a hand on my shoulder.

"Yeah, fine. Hey, can I get a day off tomorrow? I need to babysit my niece."

"Yeah, sure. I'll just give you your paycheck today then."

"K, thanks."

The store wasn't quite busy today so, Jason said I could go home. I called David and asked him to pick me up from work after Jason gave me my paycheck. Soon, I got a text from David saying that he was waiting for me outside.

"Bye, Jason!" I said as I left.

"How was work?" David asked as I got in.

"Good."

"How are you doing in school?"

"Good."

"Have you been writing any songs?"

"Can you stop asking me questions?"

He stopped asking questions and turned on the radio.

Once we got to the apartment, I rushed into my bedroom. I put my bag down on my bed and looked for a hair tie.

"Mitchie, honey. Dinners ready." Jessica came into my room.

"I'll be there in a minute." I replied as I tied my hair.

"Okay," she said and left.

I sat down my bed and looked through my bag looking for my phone. Instead I came across the paycheck I earned from working. I took the money, put it in my pocket and went down to the kitchen.

David had his arms around Jessica's waist and hers were around his neck. He softly whispered something to her and Jessica giggled. Then David leaned and kissed her. _Ewwww!_

I cleared my throat loudly and the two sprung apart. "Where's Chloe?" I asked. Chloe was nowhere in sight.

"Sleeping," David said as he sat down at the table. I nodded and sat down at the table with my plate.

"So how are you doing at work and school?" Jessica asked me as she sat down with her own plate.

"Again with the questions," I mumbled to myself, but David heard me and gave me a look. "Fine. I'm doing fine. So, how was your day, Jess?" I poked at my food.

"Oh, work. Gosh, there's this woman..." Jessica went on about a lady that worked with her. I didn't really care. I just wanted the attention off of me. A small cry interrupted Jessica. Chloe was up.

"I'll get her." David got up from him seat.

A moment later, David returned with Chloe in his arms. He sat down in his chair with Chloe in his lap. "How's daddy's little girl doing?" David tickled Chloe.

I frowned and placed my fork down. I had a sick feeling in my stomach. I could never be anyone's daughter anymore. I couldn't be daddy's little girl like I used to be. Why? Because my parents were dead and it was my fault.

"Mitchie, are you alright?" Jessica placed her hand on mine but I took my hand away. I pushed back my chair and got up. I took my paycheck out of my pocket.

"Here," I said as I shoved the paycheck across the table towards David.

He looked up. "What's that?"

"My paycheck. Hope it's enough." I took one glance at David and Chloe before mumbling, "Excuse me."

I ran out of the kitchen and into my bedroom. I lifted up my mattress and grabbed the small zip lock bag. I opened the bag and took out the blade. I rolled up my sleeve and pressed the blade against my arm. Soon, there was blood dripping down my arm.

"Mitchie?" I heard Jessica say from the other side of the door. "Are you okay?"

"I'm just tired. I'm going to go to sleep." I turned off the lights and lied down.

**Crappy ending. Sorry. **

**I'll be sending out spoliers for the next chapter to those of you who review. **


	10. Chapter 10

**Sorry for the late update. I've been getting tons of homework and yeah...**

**You guys are AWESOME! Thank you so the reviews. **

**Disclaimer: Stiiiiiill don't own anything.**

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The next day I went to all my classes except music. Instead I just walked around school and came across the library.

I poked my head inside and saw that no one was there. I stepped into the room and gently closed the door. I walked around the library. When I reached the back of the library I found some stairs. I slowly went up the squeaky steps and was lead into a dark room. I took my phone out as a source of light and flashed it around until I found the light switch.

I turned on the lights and took a look around the room. There were some dusty bookshelves and some round tables. I walked towards one of the tables and sat down. I pulled out my iPod and pressed random.

A song that I had written and sung with Dad played. It was the first song I had ever recorded and the last song I wrote with my dad. We had recorded it at the studio my uncle worked in. Hearing Dad's voice brought back too many memories. I just couldn't take it so I took out my razor from my stash in my backpack. I pressed the blade on my palm.

"Ditching class?" A voice spoke from behind me.

I dropped the blade into my backpack. "You're doing the same thing," I said, not even turning around because I knew who it was. "What are you doing here?"

"I followed you." Shane walked towards my table and sat down.

"Why?"

"I just wanted to see what you were doing."

"Stalker," I mumbled.

"I heard that." He said.

"Good."

"I didn't know you were related to David."

"What?"

"David Torres. I didn't know you were his sister," Shane said.

"How do you know him?" I dropped my backpack next to my chair.

"Jason attends his music class and David helps us out with our music."

"Oh."

"Yep."

He starred at me while I stared down at the table. "So...," I leaned forward and rested my elbows on the table. "Uh, what are you going to perform for music?"

"I don't know." Shane shrugged. "Probably something with Nate. What about you? You're going to have to start playing music if you stay in this class."

"I don't know what to do." I sighed.

"You can transfer into another class."

"I can do that?" I asked.

"You didn't know that?"

"Nope. In my old school you couldn't transfer classes until the end of the semester." I said, resting my chin in my palm.

"Well, here you can. Just go down to the office and tell Connie you want to switch classes."

I cringed at the name.

"What's wrong?" Shane looked concerned.

"My...my mom. Her name was Connie." I looked down at the table.

Shane scooted his chair closer to me. He brushed my hair back from my face and asked, "How did it happen?"

"Huh?" I looked up at him confused.

He looked kind of embarrassed. "How did...how did your parents...," he trailed off.

"How did my parents die?" Shane ran a hand through his hair and nodded.

I've been asked that question multiple times and answering it got harder and harder each time.

"It was raining that day. There was a talent show at my school and I won. We went out to celebrate and my parents drank a little too much. They told me that I should drive. I was doing perfectly fine and...and I don't know. I just... I lost control."

"You blame yourself."

"It was my fault they died." My lips trembled but I refused to cry. "I killed them."

Shane wrapped his arms around me and I buried my head into his shoulder.

**I'm sending spoilers for the next chapter.**

**Review?**


	11. Chapter 11

**Thank you very much for all the wonderful reviews. =]**

**Passed 100 reviews! x) That made me soooooooo happy. The 100th reviewer was Camprockfanatic.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own anythinggggg. **

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I reached the apartment, but didn't go inside. I just sat down on the steps in the front. I placed my backpack on my lap and unzipped it.

I pulled out a small yellow book that read _Mitchie's Songs_ on the cover. I don't really write anymore, but I still carry it around with me everywhere. I flipped through the pages slowly, reading every single word I had ever written in the book.

"What's that?" I closed the yellow book and looked up at Shane. He was leaning on the wall beside me with his hands in his pockets.

"Are you stalking me now?"

"No, I was just taking a walk and I saw you. So, what's that?"

"Nothing." I unzipped my backpack.

He stood up straight and sat down beside me. I put my song book back in my backpack. I tried to zip it but the zipper was stuck.

"What were you looking at?" He asked.

"I told you it was nothing." I tried zipping up my backpack again.

"Let me see it."

"No."

He reached over and snatched my backpack from me.

"Shane!"

He got up and turned his back towards me while he dug his hand through my bag.

I shot up from my seat. "Shane, give it back."

He pulled out a little plastic baggy.

Shit.

"Mitchie…what's this?" Shane turned towards me and held up a bag.

"A plastic baggy?" I bit my lip.

"What's inside of it?" He looked at me with curious eyes.

I didn't respond to him.

"Why do you have blades covered in blood?" Shane asked me. I looked away.

Shane dropped my backpack and baggy. He grabbed my hands and rolled up my sleeves.

"Hey! Stop!" I protested. I tried to pull my hands back, but this caused to just tug on my hands even more.

Shane looked at my wrist and gasped. "Oh my, god. You…you're…Oh my, god!" His eyes widened.

I pulled my hand away and pulled my sleeves down. "Shane…"

"You cut yourself?"

"I− Hey! Where are you going?" I asked as Shane ran towards the door.

"I'm going to tell your brother." He opened the door.

"What? No! Stop!" I ran after him. I grabbed his hand but that didn't stop Shane. "Shane, please!"

Shane stopped and looked at me.

"Shane, you can't tell my brother. Don't tell David. Please." I pleaded.

"How can I not tell him? If I don't tell him, you're just going to keep cutting yourself."

"Telling him won't make me stop."

"I have to tell him," Shane said.

"No, you don't."

"What do you expect me to do?"

I stood there starring at him. He turned around and keeps going. I was still holding his hand and so, I was dragged along with him. I tried pulling him back, but he was too strong.

We reached the door to the apartment.

"Shane, don't." I said as Shane raised his hand to knock on the door. The door to the apartment opened and Shane dropped his hand.

"Hey..." David looked at us.

"David, Mitchie−" I tugged on Shane's hand and he looked at me. I shook my head. "I was wondering if you can help us with our music tomorrow."

"Sure, you could have just called. Anyway, you were saying something about Mitchie." David stepped out and closed the door behind him.

"Oh, yeah. Uh...she's, uh, she's performing for the charity showcase at school. And she didn't want to tell you so, yeah..." He trailed off.

My eyes widened.

No way.

No _freaking _way.

David's face brightened at this. "That's great! I have to go now, though. I'm going to be late for class. I'll see you at dinner, Mitch." I nodded.

"No problem and thanks." Shane said. David nodded and left.

I turned towards Shane. "Why did you say that? I am _not_ performing at the charity showcase."

"Well, I guess now you are." I turned around and headed towards the stairs to go down. Our hands were still intertwined, so he trudged down the stairs with me.

"Where are we going?" Shane questioned.

"I don't know. Anywhere. But not in the apartment. I don't want Jessica hearing." I led us outside.

"The park?"

"Yeah, sure. Whatever." I picked up my backpack and baggy that was still lying on the ground.

I put the baggy back in its place in my backpack and closed it. Shane took my backpack from me and put it over his shoulder.

I didn't know which way the park was, so Shane led the way as we walked in silence.

"I am not performing at the showcase. Couldn't you have come up with another excuse?" I broke the silence.

He shrugged.

"How could you be so stupid! You know I don't play music anymore so why the hell would I perform!" I stopped walking and realized we had arrived at the park.

"I panicked, okay!" Shane threw his hands up in air. "And I suggest you don't yell at me."

"And why shouldn't I be yelling at you?" I crossed my arms.

"Because I didn't tell David about..." He gestured towards the cuts.

"You're not going to tell him, are you?"

"You're not going to stop cutting, are you?" He threw back at me.

"No."

"Well, then I'm going to tell David."

"You just had the chance. Why didn't you?"

"Do you want me to go tell him right now then?" Shane raised an eyebrow.

"No," I said quickly.

"I thought so." He sighed. "Before I decide what I'm going to do, I think we should talk about it."

"What do you mean? There's nothing for you to do except to shut your mouth about this."

"Fine. If I don't tell David then you have to stop cutting."

"No. I'm not going to stop." I said firmly.

"I'm not going to just walk away, if that's what you want me to do." Shane sat down on the bench behind him.

"Why don't you walk away?" I sat down as well.

"Because you're just going to keep cutting and you...you might - "

"Kill myself?" I filled in. "I'm not going to kill myself. That's not what I'm trying to do."

"Then what are you trying to do? Why do you cut?" He looked at me.

I didn't answer back.

"If you're going to continue with the cutting, then I'm not going to leave you alone."

I took a deep breath. Is this the only other way he won't tell David?

"Fine. But you can't tell David a single word about this." I said.

He nodded.

My phone started ringing. I pulled it out of my pocket and saw that it was Jessica calling.

"Hello?"

"Mitchie! Where are you?" Jessica said.

"What's wrong?"

"Did you forget? You need to baby-sit Chloe today. Can you get home as soon as you can. I can't be late for work."

"Oh, shoot! I'm so sorry! I forgot. I'll be there as soon I can." I quickly said into the phone.

"What's wrong?" Shane asked once I hung up.

I got up from the bench and reached for my backpack.

"I forgot I was supposed to baby-sit my niece today. I have to go."

"I'll walk you." He got up and took my backpack from me.

"No, it's fine."

"Let's go." He pulled on my hand and led the way.

As we walked I stared at our intertwined hands. My hand fit perfectly into his. His hands are so soft and I can not believe I'm thinking about his hands.

"You know I thought you were lying when you said you had to baby-sit. I thought you just said that so you wouldn't have to go out with Joe." He looked down at me.

"I feel bad turning him down."

"Would you have gone on the date with him if you didn't have to baby-sit?"

We had reached the apartment.

I shrugged. "Maybe."

He dropped my hand and said, "I guess I'll see you on Monday."

"Thank you for not telling David."

He just nodded and looked down.

"Uhm, do you want to come inside?" I asked.

He looked up. "No, I should probably head home now."

He handed me my backpack and without a word, turned around and walked down the street.

**Have any of you checked out the story I am co-writing with xo4Kisses-Dixo. It's called Beautiful Disaster. You could find the link to the story on my profile.**

**If not, go read it! **

**Well, if you want. **

**:)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Thank you for the reviews. :) Well, I don't have anything to say besides that.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything. **

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When I walked into school on Monday morning, people stopped and stared at me. I quickly walked to my locker. I opened my locker and put in my literature book.

A group of girls to my left kept looking at me.

"Can I help you?" I raised an eyebrow.

They turned around and walked away.

I took out my small mirror from my backpack and checked if I had anything on my face. There was nothing on my face or my teeth, so why are they all looking at me?

I turned away from my locker and took a look around. I saw a boy that looked like a freshman four lockers away from me. He kept glancing over at me from his locker. The boy closed his locker and was walking past me.

I grabbed his collar and pulled him back.

"What's going on? Why do you keep looking at me? Why is everyone starring at me?" I stared down at the boy.

"I...I don't know what you're talking about," the freshman said.

"You know what's going on. Now, spill." I demanded.

"Jeez, Torres. Don't scare the kid," said a voice from behind me.

I let go of the boy's collar and turned around to face Tess. She didn't have her minions with her. I heard the boy running away behind me.

"What's going on?" I asked her.

"I don't know." She flipped her hair over her shoulder.

"What did you do, Tess?" I knew this whole thing had something to do with her.

"Me?" She put a hand to her heart. "I didn't do anything," Tess said, innocently. But I saw right through it.

"I know you did something, Tess. You've been out to get me since my first day here. What did you do? Tell me or-" She cut me off.

"Or what? Are you going to kill me like you killed your parents?" Tess smirked and my jaw dropped.

"Mitchie!" I heard Caitlyn from down the hall. She was coming towards us with Nate and Shane behind her.

"Who...how do you know about my parents?"

"Oh, I have my ways," Tess said.

How would she know? The only person I ever told was Shane.

Oh my god.

_Shane_.

"He told you?" I breathed out.

"Mitchie!" Caitlyn reached us, Shane and Nate a step behind her.

Shane stepped past Caitlyn to come to me. His arms reached out towards me. "Mitch-"

"Don't. Touch me." I took a step away from Shane.

Tears threatened to fall but I refused to cry. I looked back from Shane and Tess.

"How could you?" I looked at him in hatred. My hand reached out and slapped him across the face.

I saw Nate's eyes widen and Caitlyn and Tess gasped.

"How dare you?" I said to him. Shane just looked at me, hurt.

"You f*cking b*tch! How dare you slap my boyfriend!" Tess pushed me back into the lockers.

"Ms. Torres, Ms. Tyler. Office. Now," Mr. Ens called out.

"But-" Tess went to protest.

"Now," Mr. Ens repeated.

I turned away from Shane and walked towards Mr. Ens who was standing outside the office.

**Soooo, what do you guys think is going to happen next?**

**Sending spoilers for next chapter. **


	13. Chapter 13

**Thank you for all the reviews. I have a four day weekend so now I have more time to write. **

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything.**

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I had two weeks of detention for an hour for slapping Shane. But I didn't care. Tess, on the other hand, went nuts hearing she would have detention. She talked back to the principal and said some words she shouldn't have which caused her to get a month of detention. The only thing that bothered me was that David was informed.

I had missed my first, second, and third period class due to being in the office. The principal wanted me to talk to the counselor about how I felt about my parent's death. I didn't say much.

When I walked into my fourth period class, everyone's gazes turned toward me. I handed Ms. Rodriguez a note that the principal wrote which said why I was late to class. I quickly took my seat next to Joe.

"You okay?" Joe whispered to me. I nodded and just starred ahead at the board.

When lunch came, Caitlyn dragged me outside.

"Mitchie, are you okay?" Caitlyn asked me as Joe and Nate stood beside her.

"I'm fine, guys." They kept looking at me. "Really. I'm okay."

"You sure didn't look okay this morning." Nate said. I looked away.

"How come you never told us about your parents?" Joe asked.

"Hey! Guess what? My parents are dead. Yeah, that doesn't seem like a great conversation starter." I crossed my arms.

"What happened with Shane? I mean why did you slap him?" Caitlyn questioned me as she sat down. Nate, Joe, and I sat down as well.

"I really don't want to talk about it."

"Just so you know, we're here for you, Mitchie." Joe put an arm around my shoulder.

"We'll always be here for you." Caitlyn put her hand over mine.

"And we're really sorry about you loss." Nate added.

"Thank you." I tried smiling, but couldn't because I continuously thought about Shane.

I had trusted him. I told him things I never told anyone else. And what did he do? He told his stupid girlfriend everything.

Shane had tried to talk to me multiple times at school. Each time, I just ignored him.

After detention, I walked to work. At work, Shane approached me when I had gone upstairs to get a guitar.

"Mitchie, please talk to me." He begged.

"I don't want anything to do with you, Shane." I said coldly.

"Why are you acting like this?"

"Like you don't know. You told Tess about my parents. Just leave me alone, okay?" I turned away from him, but he grabbed my arm.

"Mitchie, please. Just hear me out." Shane pleaded.

"What's going on?" Jason asked, coming into the guitar room.

"Nothing." I said as I pulled my arm away from Shane.

Shane looked at me and sighed, defeated. "I'm going home." He announced and walked out of the room.

"You could go home if you want," Jason said as we were walking back downstairs. "It's not much busy today, anyway."

"You sure?" I picked up my bag from the counter.

"I'm sure. I'll see you tomorrow."

I smiled and thanked Jason and left. I didn't call or text David or Jessica to pick me up because I wasn't ready to face them just yet.

It was only about six o'clock, but it was getting really cloudy. It looked like a storm was coming.

I took about twenty minutes to walk from the store to the apartment. Half way to the apartment, I felt something wet hit my face.

Great. It's raining. No, wait. It's snowing.

I groaned and ran the rest of the way to the apartment before the snow could get worse.

When I got to the apartment, I took deep breaths as I opened the door. No one was in the kitchen or living room. I checked the bedrooms, but found no one. Good. That means I have time until I have to face David and Jessica.

I pushed open the door of my bedroom and kicked it close. I dropped my bag next to the door. I shrugged off my jacket, threw on my bed, and lied down.

What am I supposed to say to David and Jessica? Do I tell them the truth?

I didn't realize that had fallen asleep until my phone ran and woke me up. I looked at my phone to see that it was Nate calling.

"Hello?" I said into my phone.

"Mitchie . . ." A voice that didn't belong to Nate said.

"Leave me alone, Shane."

"Please, just listen to me. I don't know what I did wrong! Why are you ignoring me?"

"You told her, Shane. You told her about my parents and that I was the reason they died. Did you tell her about the cutting, too?"

"Mitchie, I didn't tell her anything!"

"Good bye, Shane." I hung up.

Why is he still trying to talk to me? I mean, I _slapped_ him. Shane should be angry at me. He should hate me. But, no. He's still trying to talk to me.

I understood why he had started talking to me earlier. Shane wanted me to trust him so I would tell him my secrets. Then, he could go tell Tess.

And he succeeded.

I can't believe I fell for it. I can't believe I fell for _him_.

I sat up in my bed as I heard the front door open and close.

"Mitchie!"

Shoot.

David's home.

**Like it? Hate it?**


	14. Chapter 14

**Thank you so much for the reviews guys. Sorry, I haven't updated for a month. My stupid computer is screwed up. So, I might not be able to update a lot until it is fixed. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. **

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Shoot.

David's home.

"Mitchie, where are you?" I heard David yelling.

I got off my bed and walked over to the door. I opened the door just as David was about to knock on it.

"Kitchen. Now." He ordered. I followed him into the kitchen.

"Sit down. We need to talk." David said.

"What's up?" I sat down at the table.

"You're asking me what's up? What's up with you, Mitchie?" He sat down.

"Nothing."

"Nothing? If nothing is wrong, why did I get a call from your school telling me you had two weeks of detention?" He didn't sound angry. He seemed upset.

Why isn't he angry? I shrugged in response.

"Mitchie, talk to me."

"There really isn't anything to talk about." I simply replied.

"What happened at school today, Mitch?"

I didn't say a word.

"Mimi, please. Talk to me."

"I told you, David. I have nothing to say."

"Mimi, I'm your - " I cut him off.

"Brother. You're my brother, David. You're not Mom or Dad."

"I am your guardian, Mitchie. You are my responsibility and you are living under my roof so, you will answer to me." He said, firmly.

"I never asked to live here."

"Where else were you going to stay?" He looked at me. I shrugged.

"You had no other option, Mitch. Tell me what happened school today?"

We heard the front door opened and closed.

"Hey, guys. It's freezing outside." Jessica came in holding a bag in one hand and Chloe in the other. "I brought Chinese food."

David and I did not lose eye contact.

Jessica must have noticed the tension between David and I. She set the bag down on the table. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." David looked away from me and smiled at Jessica. "Mitchie was just telling me how she's performing at her school's showcase." He got up and gave Jessica a kiss.

Jessica looked at me and smiled. "Really? That's great! When is it?"

"Uhm..I'm not sure. I think, in a month?" I answered.

"Do you want to go back to the house and get your guitar and keyboard?" Jessica asked me.

I had left my guitar and keyboard at the house. I didn't want to bring it with me. It was just a reminder of what had happened.

"Uh, actually, no. I could just practice at school." I said, placing my hands on top of the table.

"You sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Okay. I'm going to go get changed. Mitchie, can you start setting up for dinner?"

I nodded. Jessica gave David a kiss on the cheek and left the kitchen with Chloe.

"She doesn't know about me getting detention, does she?" I got up from the table and took out the food from the brown bag.

"No." David answered.

"How come?"

He shrugged in response and took a water bottle out of the refrigerator.

I took a deep breath and said, "I slapped Shane."

David choked on his water and started coughing.

I got up and patted his back. "Are you okay?"

"You did what?" He put the cap back on to the bottle and placed it on the counter.

I sighed. "I slapped Shane."

"Yeah, I heard that. Why on earth would you slap Shane?" David asked as he crossed his arms. I shrugged.

"So, you just felt like hitting Shane and you slapped him? Mitchie, you are going to apologize to him." He said firmly.

"What? No. I'm not saying sorry to him. He deserved it."

There is no way I'm going to that jerk. He deserved it for betraying me.

"What did he do?"

"I don't want to talk about it, David."

"Well, too bad because we are going to talk about it."

"David - " He interrupted me

"No, Mitchie. I want to know what Shane did that made you freaking slap him."

I remained silent.

"You are going to apologise to him."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are." Tomorrow, I'm going to Jason's store to help Jason with some music. You are going to apologize to Shane in front of me. Understood?"

"Whatever." I mumbled and turned my back to him.

Jessica came back with Chloe. "Let's eat. I'm starving."

**Sorry, I didn't get to reply to any of your reviews and send out spoilers but I will definitely this time.**

**Thanks for reading. :) **


	15. Chapter 15

**I was planning on updating on Christmas but never got the chance. Sorry!**

**Thanks for all the reviews. :) I really appreciate you guys taking your time to review. **

**Here is chapter 15. I hope you guys like it. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything. **

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The next day I ignored Shane again. He had tried to talk to me, but I had walked away each time.

As I was walking to work after school, I got a call from Jason. He said I didn't have to come to work.

I turned around and walked in the direction of the apartment. Now I don't have to apologize to Shane. I don't know why David made such a big deal out of me slapping Shane. I mean all I did was slap him. It's not like I killed him or something. Plus, Shane deserved it.

I still don't understand why Shane would even try to talk to me. I thought his job was over now. All he was supposed to do was get information about me to tell Tess so she can humiliate me. And he did that. So why is he still trying to talk to me?

Why am I even thinking about him? He broke my trust. He promised not tell anyone. I just can't get over the fact that he told Tess.

I felt like screaming. I felt like hitting someone or something. I felt like pulling my hair out. I kicked the snow and pulled on my jacket as my hair blew into my face because of the wind.

I missed my parents. Dad would always instantly know when I was upset. He would take me in his arms and tell be everything would be alright.

I sighed as I reached the apartment. I went into my room once I was inside. I finished my homework and went into the living room. I plopped down onto the couch and turned on the television.

After watching three episodes of That 70's Show, I heard the front door open and close. David was home.

"Where were you?" He asked me.

"Jason called and said I didn't have to come to work so I came here afterschool." I replied without looking at him.

"Did you apologize to Shane?"

"Nope." I said as I turned off the television.

"Mitchie, you were supposed to apologize to him."

"Whoops." I got up from the couch.

"Where are you going?"

"Room."

Mitch - "

I ran away before he could finish. I really did not want to hear what David had to say.

- X -

On Thursday when I got to school, I found Nate waiting by mine and Caitlyn's locker.

"Hey Nate." I greeted him.

"Good morning." Nate smiled.

"Waiting for Caitlyn?" I asked as I opened my locker.

"Actually, I needed to talk to you."

"Me? 'Bout what?" I turned to face him.

"Our history project is due on Monday and we haven't started yet." He explained.

"Oh, shoot! I totally forgot about that."

"Yeah, so when do you want to work on it?"

"How about tomorrow?" I asked as I turned back to me locker.

"Okay. Do you work tomorrow?"

"Oh, yeah. Nevermind, then. Not tomorrow."

"Don't worry about it. I'll tell Jason to let you out earlier." Nate replied and leaned against the lockers.

"You sure?"

He nodded.

"Where do you want to work on it?"

"Uhm..." He thought about it. "How about the library?"

"Fine by me." I took my history book out of my locker.

"So, I'll just come by the store tomorrow and then we'll just walk, yeah?"

"Yeah, sure." I confirmed. The bell rang. "See you later," I said to Nate and walked to my homeroom.

- X -

On Friday, Shane didn't say a word to me. I was called into the office during third period. I was told that I did not have detention anymore.

"Why?" I asked.

"Shane Gray came in and said that it was a mistake." That was all that Connie had told me.

I decided to skip music and go to the library. I was about to open the door of the library but I heard voices coming from inside. I stopped and listened.

"Tell me how you found out." I heard a male's voice say in a demanding tone.

"Found out what?" A high pitched voice said.

"About Mitchie." I froze hearing my name. Who would talk about me?

"Why do you even care about that orphan?" I recognized that voice. It was Tess. My eyes filled with anger.

I pushed open the library door slightly so I could get a peek inside. I could see Tess but I couldn't see the other person.

"Just tell me." The deep voice said.

"No." Tess turned to leave but the man's hand grabbed her arms and spun her around towards him.

The guy finally came into view. It was Shane.

"Ow! Gosh, Shane. You're hurting my arm." Tess tried to pull away.

He let go of her and growled, "Just tell me, Tess."

Tess rolled her eyes and crossed her arms across her chest. "Last Friday, I saw you following her, so I followed you. I heard you guys talking." Tess said, annoyed.

"Why the hell did you tell everyone, Tess? Do you have to go and ruin everyones lives?"

"But she was stealing you away from me, Shaney." Tess whined.

"I don't know why I never did this before but we're over. Don't ever call me again." Shane glared at her and walked towards the door.

I quickly looked around for a hiding spot. I ran towards the girl's bathroom.

Shane never told Tess. She overheard us talking.

Oh, god.

I made a big mistake.

**So I decided that I would send a spoiler to those of you that review. **

**What did you guys think of this chapter? **


	16. Chapter 16

**Thanks for the reviews! :D **

**Just one review away from 200. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything. **

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I was surprised to see David waiting outside of school. I walked over to the car and got in.

"You don't have any classes?" I asked.

"Nope. Not today. Plus, I didn't wantyou walking in this weather." David answered.

It had been snowing all week. The snow got worse and worse each day.

"Could you just drop me off at work?"

"Sure." He said.

We arrived at the store. I got out of the car and walked towards the store.

"Do you nees to talk to Jason?"

"No. I thought I'd just stay here since I have nothing better to do at home."

"Oh." I nodded and pushed open the door to the store.

Jason looked up as he heard the bells ring, indicating that someone had come into the store.

"Hey guys." Jason said, closing the catalog he was looking af.

"Hi Jason." I walked over to the counter.

"Busy day?" David walked over to the counter as well.

"Nah. It's been going slow all day." Jason said.

"Hey, is Shane here?" I asked. From the corner of my eye, I saw David giving me a weird look.

"No. He is probably at home. I don't know. Why?"

"Just asking." I pulled out my phone to text Nate so I could ask him what time he would be here. I looked up to find David looking at me. "What?"

"I thought you were angry at him?" He asked me as Jason walked over to the CD section.

"Yeah, uh, that was a misunderstanding. I made a mistake."

"Have you apologized yet like I told you to?" He leaned against the counter.

"No and I know that I need to."

"You better do it soon." He opened the catalog Jason was looking at earlier.

"I know. So, Jason, did Nate talk to you about me leaving a bit early?" I questioned.

"Oh, yeah." He walked back over to us. "You can leave once Nate comes."

Nate showed up about an hour later. "Jeez, the snow's getting worse and worse." Nate said, shivering. "Mitchie, you ready?"

"Yeah, just a sec." I grabbed my bag.

"I'll drive you two to the library." David took out his car keys out of his pocket. "It is way to cold to be walking."

"Thanks." Nate replied.

We said goodbye to Jason and left the store. Nate and David talked about cars in the front as I sat in the back, starring out the window.

David drove away as Nate and I walked towards the library. We saw many people leaving.

"It's not closing, is it?" I looked at Nate.

"I hope not." We checked the times taped to the front door of the library.

"Shit, it closes in five minutes." Natr said.

"Now what?" I asked.

"Uhm..." Nate thought about it. "My house is like a block away. Do you want to go there?"

"Well, we have no choice. Lead the way, Gray."

We ran to Nate's house since it was freezing outside.

"Woah! _This_ is your house?" I starred at the Gray's house in awe.

"Yup." Nate said walking through the gates.

"It's beautiful!"

Nate laughed. "C'mon, get inside before you freeze." He opened the door. I ran up to the door and follwed him side.

"Wow." I said once we were inside.

"You know Caitlyn said the same thing when she first came here." Nate took off his shoes by the door. I did the same.

"Mhmmmm...What's that smell?" I asked.

"Most likely my mom's cooking. Let's go, I will introduce you to her." Nate led me to the kitchen.

We walked into the kitchen. I saw a woman with shoulder length, dark, curly hair, taking out a tray of the oven. Her back was facing us.

"Cookies!" Nate yelled, running towards the woman.

The woman turned around to face us. She was very beautiful. "Stop right there, Nate. Do not touch these." She said as she placed the tray of cookies on the counter. She turned back around and to close the oven.

Nate reached over to grab a cookie. "Ah! Hot! Hot! Hot!" He yelped as I started laughing.

The woman turned back around. "I told you not to touch them." I saw the beautiful woman look at me. "Who is this?"

Nate blew on his fingers. "That's Mitchie. Mitchie, this is my mom."

"Hi." I smiled.

"Hello, dear. Why are you standing there? Come sit down." She walked over to me and took my hand. "Oh! You are freezing!" She placed a hand on my cheek. "Nate, go fetch her some warm clothes."

"Okay." He told me to follow him. Nate led me up a staircase. We passed three doors before stopping at the room that had a 'N' in the door.

"I take it, this is your room?" I said.

"Yup." He opened the door.

"Damn, your room is huge!" I looked around the bedroom.

There were two guitar near the window and a keyboard next to it. A huge bed sat to the right of the window. There were two other doors in the room. I assumed one was a bathroom and the other was a closet.

Nate walked over to his closet and pulled out a sweatshirt. "Here. You can change in her. I'll be waiting downstairs, 'kay?"

I nodded and Nate closed the door as he left. I quickly changed out of my thin long sleeved shirt and put on the warm sweatshirt. I put my shirt into my bag and left my bag on Nate's bed. I headed downstairs, into the kitchen.

"Mitchie, take a seat. Eat some cookies and I made hot chocolate." Mrs. Gray said.

"Thank you, Mrs. Gray." I took a seat next to Nate , who was shoving cookies down his throat.

"Please call me Denise, honey." Mrs. Gray, I mean, Denise said as she handed me a plate of cookies and a cup of hot chocolate.

"Thank you, Denise." I smiled. She reminded me of my mom.

Denise smiled back at me and then looked at Nate. "Nate! Eat with some manners!"

"Sorry." Nate mumbled.

"These cookies are delicious, Mrs. - Denise. My mom used to make cookies just like these. She was a cook, actually."

"Really? Well, I am going have to meet your mother and get some recipes from here." Denise said and Nate stopped and looked at me.

"Uhm...she passed away." I said.

"Oh, dear. I am so sorry about your loss." She placed a hand on my shoulder.

"It's okay."

"Uhm, Mom... where is Trev?" Nate changed the subject.

"Oh! I completely forgot that I am supposed to pick him up from his friend's house. I will be back in a half hour." Denise said, taking off her apron and leaving the kitchen.

Once Nate and I finished eating, we headed to his room to work on our project.

Two hours later . . .

"I hate projects." Nate groaned.

"Me too." I checked the time on my phone and saw that it was almost seven-thirty. "Well, we're done. I should head home now." I placed my phone down. I got up and stretched my arms.

"Stay for dinner, at least." Nate got up as well.

"No, it's getting late."

"C'mon, you have to stay." He protested.

"Nate, no." I shook my head.

"Please?" He pouted.

I sighed. "Your parents won't mind?"

He shook his head in response.

"Okay, fine." I said.

"Let's go check if dinner done. I'm hungry." Nate said, patting his stomach.

"God, Nate. How much do you eat?" I laughed as we walked out of his room.

"Its food and I'm a guy. Do the math." He replied as he shut his bedroom door and walked towards the staircase.

One of the doors opened and Shane stepped out. He saw us and stopped.

"Hi Shane." I said.

**I hope you liked it. :)**

**So, it's my birthday today! :)Maybe you guys could leave some reviews as a birthday gift? ;)**

**I will not be able to send spoilers until maybe next week because I'm going to India for a week or two so yeah. **


	17. Chapter 17

**Thank you for all the birthday wishes. I had a great time in India. It was a mini vacation away from school so it was great. But once I got back, I had so much make up work to do so I didn't have much time to write. **

**Thank you for all the wonderful reviews. We broke 200 reviews! :) That made me really happy. **

**Here's chapter 17. Hope you guys like it. I have a feeling you guys are going to get mad at me at the end of this chapter. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

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"Hi Shane." I said.

Shane looked at me in surprise. "Mitchie? Uh, hi."

I glanced at Nate, who had weird expression on his face.

"Nate!" Denise yelled from downstairs.

"I'm coming!" Nate shouted. "Let's go, Mitchie."

"Okay." I patted my pocket to check my phone was there. "Oh, wait. I think I left my phone in your room. Why don't you go on ahead and I'll go get my phone." I suggested.

Nate nodded towards me and went down the stairs.

I looked at Shane before turning around to go to Nate's room. I found my phone lying on Nate's bed.

"Mitchie," I heard Shane say. "We need to talk." I turned around to face Shane. He was standing at the doorway.

"Shane, look, I – " He interrupted me.

"Mitchie, please. I just need you to hear me out. I know you're mad at me but I swear, I did not tell Tess anything. I wouldn't tell anyone what you told me. I haven't told anyone about it. Not even Nate or Jason. Please believe me, Mitchie. I even broke up with Tess. I know how she found out about your parents too. She over – "

"She overheard us talking in the library. I know." I interrupted him this time.

"How do you know?" Shane walked towards me.

"I was going to the library and I heard you guys talking." I explained.

"You heard everything?"

"Yeah." I nodded and picked up my phone off the bed.

"I am really sorry about Tess. I don't know why I never broke up with her earlier. I am so, so, so, so, so sorry."

"Mitchie, did you find your phone?" Nate came into the room. "Shane? Uh… what's going on?"

"I found my phone. Let's go." I said ignoring Nate's second question.

"Okay. Well, Mom wants us all downstairs."

The three of us went down into the living room. I saw Jason and a man, who I assumed was their father, sitting on the couch.

"Hey Mitchie." Jason waved to me. I smiled back.

"Dad, this is Mitchie. Mitchie, this is my dad." Nate introduced us.

I smiled. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Gray."

"David's sister, right?" Mr. Gray asked.

"Yes." I answered.

"Dinner is almost ready." Denise announced coming into the living room.

"I'm just going to go call my brother." I pulled out my phone. I went into the kitchen with Denise. I sat down at the table as I dialed David's number.

"Mitchie, where are you?" David asked as soon as he answered the phone.

"I'm at the Gray's house. The library closed when you dropped us off so Nate and I went to his house instead. " I explained.

"When are you coming home?" He questioned.

"Well, Nate insists on me staying for dinner. I said no, but he won't listen to me. I'll call you to pick to me up."

"Okay. I – for – all." I couldn't hear him well.

"Hello?"

"Mitch – you – me?"

"Hello? David?" I said into the phone again. The call disconnected. I looked at my phone and saw that I had no signal.

"What's wrong?" Denise asked.

"The call got disconnected but I told David that I would call him when I am ready to leave."

"Okay." She replied as I got up from the table to help Denise set up for dinner. "Could you please tell one of the boys to bring Trevor down for dinner?"

"Sure." I placed a plate down on the table and went for the door.

As I pushed open the kitchen door, I heard someone say, "Ow," from the other side of the door. I slipped through the door and saw a boy rubbing his head. My eyes widened and I knelt down so I was his height.

"Oh my gosh! Are you okay?" I put my hand on his shoulder. "Where does it hurt?" I inspected his head.

The little boy pulled away. "I'm fine." I pulled my hand off his shoulder as he asked me, "Who are you?"

"I'm Mitchie." I answered.

"Oh! You're Shane's girlfriend. I'm Trevor." The boy said.

"I'm not his girlfriend. We're just friends." I explain.

"Friends with benefits?" Trevor looked up at me as I stood up.

"What? No! No. We are not dating and we're definitely not friends with benefits. Just friends. How old are you?" I asked him.

"I'm nine. I turn ten in one month though."

He's only nine years old and he's talking about this? What are kids learning these days?

"So, I see you've met Trevor." Shane ruffled Trevor's hair. Trevor pushed Shane's hand away and fixed his hair.

"Yeah." I said. I couldn't think right. Friends with benefits? Girlfriend? What the hell? "Dinner is ready, so, uhm, tell the others." I went back into the kitchen.

- X -

After dinner, I helped Denise wash the dishes.

"I'm sorry about your parents, Mitchie." Denise said. I didn't know what to say so I just nodded. "I understand how you must feel. I lost my mother when I was just ten years old because she had cancer."

"What about your father?" I asked.

"I never got to see him. He left my mother before I was even born. I was raised by my mother and brother."

"What happened after your mother passed away?"

"My brother was away for college in California when my mother died. He was all that I had left and so I had to move in with him. I felt like I was a burden to him. His schoolwork, job, and our mother's death was already stressing him out. Then, I was added onto his list of things to stress about. It was hard for the both us but we made it through. I got a job to help out with money once I was old enough to work."

I was speechless. "I don't know what to say."

"I don't want you to say anything. I just wanted to tell you this. If you ever need someone to talk to or need any advice, you can come talk to me because I know what you're going through."

"Thank you." I said. Our life stories were sort of alike. "What brought you back to New Jersey?"

"My brother and I came back to visit and just decided to stay here." She replied.

"Does your brother still live here?"

"Yes. He is the music teacher at your high school."

"Brown is your brother?" Denise nodded in response.

Once we were done, we went into the living room. We found the guys watching some show.

"I'm going to call David now. It is getting late." I pulled out my phone.

"Mitchie, one of the boys can drop you off." Denise said.

"No, it's okay. I'll just call David."

"I could drop you off." Shane offered from his seat on the coach.

"Uhm...Okay. I'll just go get my bag from Nate's room."

I went upstairs into Nate's room. I closed the door and locked it before changing out of Nate's sweatshirt and placing it on the bed. I pulled my shirt out of my bag and slipped it on. I opened the door to find Shane standing outside the door, hand raised to knock on the door.

"Ready?" He asked as he dropped his hand. I nodded and followed his down the stairs.

"Mitchie, I hope to see you soon." Denise hugged me. I said goodbye to everyone as I followed Shane to his car.

Shane opened the passenger door for me. "Oh, I see you're a gentleman."

"My mother taught me well." He smiled as I slid into the seat.

"Thank you." I watched as he walked around to go to the driver's seat. He started the car and drove off.

"Your mom is really nice." I said as we stopped at a red signal light.

"I know."

"She told me about her parents."

"Really?" Shane looked surprised.

"Yeah. She said that she understood what I was going through and that I could come to her if I ever need someone to talk to." He nodded and stopped the car in front of the apartment. "Uh, well, thanks for the ride." I opened the door.

"Wait." Shane reached over and shut the door.

"What?"

He took my hand and rolled up the sleeve. "No, Shane, don't - "

Shane shook his head. "I want to see them." He continued rolling up my sleeves until he got to my elbows. Shane's eyes widened as he lightly touched each cut. "Oh, damn. Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why do this? You never really told me why."

"Because...because it was my fault they died. This just is a way for my to take away the pain and guilt I feel."

"Jesus, Mitchie. You're killing yourself." He gently touched the cuts again.

"I am not killing myself and I don't plan on it either, okay." I pulled my arm away.

"Mitchie - "

"Stop. Just stop, Shane." I raised my hand to stop him from speaking. "I'm gonna go."

"Wait. Look, I didn't mean to upset you, okay. I just wanted to see if you had cut yourself."

I didn't look at him. "Are you done?"

"Mitchie. Mitchie, look at me." Shane took my face in his hands and forced me to look at him. "Mitchie, I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. That wasn't my intention."

I sighed. "I'm sorry, too, for slapping you." I placed a hand on his cheek. "Did it hurt?"

"Hell yeah. I didn't think you could hit that hard."

My eyes widened. "Oh, my god. I'm so sorry." I took my hand of his cheek and tried pulling away but Shane pulled me back.

"Hey, hey, I'm just joking. You actually think I can't take a hit from a twig like you."

"That's not funny." I gently shoved his chest and he immediately took grasp of that hand.

Just then, I noticed how close his face was to me. This was just like the moment we had at the store. The day we almost kissed. He leaned close to me, our lips just centimeters away. I could feel his warm breath on my face as he leaned closer and closer.

**You hate me for ending it here, don't you?**

**Tell me what you thought of this chapter. **

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	18. Chapter 18

**Hello readers! :) So, I'm going to start off my apologizing for not updating since March. I hope I didn't lose any of you from my super long absence. I never got the chance to write much because of school. Thanks for all of the reviews.**

**So to make up for my absence, I decided to give you guys a longer chapter. **

**Here's chapter 18. I hope you like it. **

**Disclaimer : I do not own anything.**

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I felt his warm breath on my face as he leaned closer and closer.

"Shane – "

"Shhh…" He whispered, leaning in and closing his eyes. I felt my eyelids droop as I moved closer to him.

His lips pressed against mine softly. I felt the butterflies erupt in my stomach. I kissed him back as I moved my hand to the side of his face.

I jolted awake and sat up in my bed. I reached over to my night stand and picked up my phone. It was 4: 23 A.M. I groaned and dropped my head into my hands.

"It was just a dream, Mitchie." I said to myself. I sighed and lied back down. I tried going back to sleep but all I could think about was what happened last night in the car.

_I felt his warm breath on my face as he leaned closer and closer._ _My eyes started to close as I leaned in as w ell. _

_I heard a knock come from behind me and I sprung away from Shane. I looked out the window to see David. _

"_Oh, shit." I muttered. I quickly got out of the car. "David," I clear my throat. "Hey."_

"_What was taking you so long?" He asked as Shane got out of the car. _

"_Nothing. We were just talking. Anyway, bye Shane." I waved to him and grabbed David's arm. "Let's go." _

_I pulled David towards the apartment building. I glanced back towards Shane and saw him still standing there. I turned back and went inside. _

"_So, you guys were just _talking?" David asked.

"_Yes, David. We were just talking." I replied as we climbed up the stairs. _

"_Really? 'Cause it didn't look like you guys were talking from my point of view." He smirked. _

"_Oh, yeah? What did it look like from your point of view?" I crossed my arms. _

"_Well it looked like you guys were about to kiss."_

"_We were not." I denied. _

"_Yeah, you were." _

"_No, we weren't. And even if we were, it's none of your business." I opened the door of our apartment and slammed it before he could inside. _

What would have happened if we had kissed? Did he really want to kiss me or was he just caught up in the moment or something? Would things be different if we had kissed? Would…would we date?

I groaned. I should just sleep in on this and think about it tomorrow.

…

I was glad it was the weekend, which meant I didn't have to go to work. I wasn't ready to face Shane after what had happened in the car last night.

I was sitting on the couch watching T.V. with David and Jessica when Caitlyn called.

"Hey, Cait." I answered the phone.

"Are you doing anything tonight?"

"Nope."

"Good. So you're coming to a party with me. I'll be at your apartment in twenty, K?"

"Wait, party? Whose?" From the corner of my eye I saw David look over at me when he heard me say party.

"This guy on the basketball team is throwing a party and you're coming with me." Caitlyn replied.

"But I wasn't invited." I said.

"You don't have to be invited. People just go. C'mon, you have to come. I want you to come."

"I don't want to go. I won't even know anyone there."

"Well, if you go, you'll get to know more people. C'mon, please? Please, please, please, please, please!" I could hear her stomping her feet in the background.

"I don't know. I have to ask." I sat up on the couch. "Hold on." I turned to face Jessica and David. "Hey, do you guys mind if I go to a party with Caitlyn?"

"I don't know –" David started.

"Of course you can." Jessica interrupted him. I watched as David gave her look which she returned.

David sighed. "Fine but you need to be home by ten."

"Ten? David, are you kidding me? She's a senior, now. She doesn't need a curfew." Jessica looked at him.

"Just be home by twelve." David said to me and crossed his arms.

"Okay. I'm going to go get ready." I got up from the couch and went towards my room. "Okay, I can go." I said to Caitlyn on the phone.

"Great. I will be there in twenty minutes." She hung up.

I sighed as I closed the door of my room.

I looked through my closet and tried to decide what to wear. I pulled out a pair of black skinny jeans and a long sleeve white v-neck. After changing, I put on a light coat of lip gloss on and brushed my hair. Once I was done getting ready, I sat down on my bed and listened to some music on my iPod as I waited for Caitlyn. About five minutes later, Caitlyn barged into my room.

"You know, there's this thing called knocking." I said as I took paused the music.

"I knocked for a good minute, you know." She sat down next to me. "Anyway, just go get dressed."

"I am dressed."

"You're wearing that?" I nodded in response. "I don't think so." She got up and walked over to my closet.

"I'm sixteen years old, turning seventeen in two weeks. I think I can dress myself."

"Oh, this would be perfect!" She pulled out a pink dress with spaghetti straps. "Here, wear this."

It was one of the many clothes Jessica had bought me since I didn't bring back much of my clothes from the house. I hadn't worn much of those clothes since they were mostly sleeveless and couldn't cover any of the scars. So when I did wear them I always put on a jacket over it.

"Caitlyn, I don't want to wear that. It's, uhm, cold outside." I said. I couldn't wear the dress. It would show the scars.

"Just wear a jacket. Here, this one would go great with the dress." She handed me a jacket that ended just below my elbows. "Do you have any accessories?"

"Caitlyn, I don't want to wear this. Can't I just –"

"Mitchie, I'm not taking no for an answer." She went through my drawers. She pulled out some pink bangles.

I sighed defeated and took the dress. "Don't watch me as I dress."

"I wasn't planning on it." She lied down on my bed.

I put on the dress and the jacket. I put the bangles on the hand that had the most visible scars to cover it. "Okay, done." I turned to look at her. "Hey!"

"Wow! You actually wrote these? These are great!" Caitlyn said as she turned another page of my song book.

"Caitlyn, that's personal!" I snatched it out of her hands. I put it back under my pillow.

"You know, we've never actually heard you sing."

"And you never will." I replied as I bent down to put on the pair of heels Caitlyn had picked out.

"Hey, where'd you get that cut from?" She asked pointed to the cut on my leg.

"Oh, uhm, that? I, uh, got it while I was shaving. Yeah, I was shaving and well you know the rest." I got up and grabbed my phone. "Hey, can you put my phone in your bag since I'm not taking one and don't have anything to put it in."

"Sure." I handed her my phone. "Let's go."

We went out in the living room to say goodbye to David and Jessica.

"Mitchie, you look great! The dress looks great on you." Jessica came up to me. I thanked her.

"Have fun and be home by twelve." David said and gave me a hug.

"Uh, okay." I awkwardly patted his back.

Caitlyn and I got into her car and drove off. "So, is Tess going to be at this party?" I asked her.

"Probably. Why?"

"Because I really don't want to put up with her tonight."

"Don't worry. She will most likely be busy with some dumbass." She said.

We soon arrived at the party. There were groups of people all over the front yard. As we went up the porch to go inside, a guy got stepped in front of me separating me from Caitlyn.

"Hey." The guy said blocking the entrance. I looked behind him to see Caitlyn inside. She hadn't noticed that I wasn't with her.

"Uhm, hi." I could tell he was drunk because he reeked of beer.

"What's your name, cutie?" He winked at me. I pushed him out of the way and went inside.

I made my way through the crowd and made it into the kitchen where I found Caitlyn, Joe, and Nate.

"Hey, where were you?" Caitlyn asked as I approached them.

"There was this drunk dude that stopped me outside of the house."

"Are you okay?" Joe asked as I sat down on a chair beside him.

"I'm fine. So, who's throwing this party again?"

"You see that guy right there?" Joe pointed to a couch which two couple were sitting on.

"Which one? The one making out with the blonde or brunette?"

"The blonde." Nate answered.

"Oh. Wait, is that Tess?" Caitlyn nodded. "Dang, she gets over dudes fast."

"That's how Tess is." Caitlyn replied.

"Hey, do you want to dance?" Joe asked me.

"Sure." He took my hand and led me to where everyone was dancing. I looked back to Caitlyn and motioned for her to come with us. She grabbed Nate's hand and followed us.

As we danced, we talked about music and school. I occasionally looked around to see if Shane was here, but I didn't see him until I looked over Joe's shoulder to see him in a lip lock with some girl.

The smile on my face was gone as a million questions ran through my mind. Why was he kissing her? Is she his girlfriend? Why did he almost kiss me then? Was he really caught up in the moment in the car?

"Hey, are you okay? You seem a little down all of a sudden." Joe said as he placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Okay. So, I know I've asked you this a lot, and this is going to be the last time. I kind of like you and I was wondering if you wanted to go on a date with me." He looked me in the eye.

"Joe –"

"Please, don't say no right of the bat. Just one date. If you're not interested, I'll be totally fine with it." He pleaded.

"Okay." I gave in.

"Really?" I nodded. "Thanks for giving me a chance." He smiled.

A girl bumped into me, spilling her drink all over me. "Oh, whoops." She giggled.

"Ugh. I'll be back. I'm just going to go wash this up." I said to Joe.

The house was actually pretty big. I ended up on the second floor where only a few people were. I opened at least four doors before finding the bathroom. I got some tissues and wiped at the spot that had formed on my dress.

I left the bathroom and started to go back the way when someone grabbed my arm.

"Hey, cutie." The voice said. I turned around to see that it was the same guy that had confronted me earlier.

"Excuse me, but I need to go." I tried to shake the guys hand off.

"I don't think so." He tried to kiss me but I pushed him away.

"Seriously, dude, back off." I said.

"No." He got a hold of my hand again.

"John, back off, man." Shane called out coming towards us.

"I'm just trying to have a good time." The dude tried to pull me close to him again.

Shane came up to us and pulled him away from me. "No, you're not. Not with her."

"Oh, whoops, bro. Didn't know you already had dibs."

"I can take care of myself, Shane." I walked away from him and so called John. As I walked past them I felt a hand smack my butt. I turned around and glared at John. I walked up to him and coldly said, "You ever try that again, I swear I will cut off your dick and shove it in your mouth." I stomped on his foot with my heel and brought my knee up to his crotch. John made an 'oof' sound and fell to the ground. "See, I told you I can take care of myself." I said to Shane as I leaned against the wall behind us.

"Sure, 'cause you were doing so well before, right?" He took a step forward, towards me.

"Yes. I could have handled it myself." I crossed my arms.

"So, you and Joe, huh?" Shane came closer to me.

"Where did you hear that from?" I asked. Why does he care?

"Nate, Caitlyn, and Joe said so himself. I wanted to hear it from you."

"Joe and I are going to go on a date." I told as he took another step towards me. He was no more than a foot away from me. He placed one hand on either side me, so I wouldn't be able to escape.

"And what about us?" He breathed out.

"Us? What about us?" I looked up at him. "Is there even an us?"

"Why are you acting so different?"

"I'm not. I'm still me. The same girl who killed her parents and cuts herself."

"So what happened in the car was nothing?"

"Nothing even happened. You tried to kiss me and that's it."

"You didn't stop me, either."

"Shane, just forget that it ever happened. Forget anything ever happened. Just forget you ever met me. It will be a lot easier that way, for you and me."

"How am I going to be able to forget you when every single moment I think about whether or not you're hurting yourself with that goddamn blade? Whether or not you're going to go too deep and −"

"Kill myself? I told you, that's not what I'm trying to do. So, there's nothing you have to worry about. I told you the first time you found out to just walk away and pretend like you didn't even see anything."

"God, I'm such an idiot." He smacked the wall behind me and I flinched. "I should have told David what happened in the first place so I wouldn't be stuck with you then. I mean you didn't want to be involved with me in the first place. Why did I even try? Oh yeah, because I fucking care about you. I want to help you. But all you care about is yourself."

"I don't need your help because you don't understand." I stabbed my finger on his chest. "You just don't understand. How dare you say that to me? You don't understand what I'm going through." I angrily pushed him away from me. Don't ever show your face to me, Shane Gray." I said before walking away from him.

**I hope you liked it. :)**

**I finished my first year of high school last Friday! Yay! Unfortunately, I'm taking a summer class and I have like 4 summer projects. But I'll try to write as much as I can.**

**I just found out from Mussofan04 that I was nominated for Best Breakout Author. I just wanted to thank whoever had nominated me so whoever you are, thank you. :)**


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